On Sunday, January 16th, Roddick and fellow big-namers all came together in an entertaining exhibition to raise money for the Queensland flood clean-up, reaching $1.5 million to aid in the crisis.

Rod Laver’s 15,000 fans enjoyed Team Gold take on Andy and Team Green, which was accompanied by comical on-court commentary from both players and scorekeeper Jim Courier. For a full report on the day, click here: http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/news/articles/2011-01-16/201101161295155838158.html

Stay tuned to AndyRoddick.com as our No. 1 American gets ready for a Monday start here in Melbourne Park.

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Down Under. Given this nickname for being the only continent with the majority of it’s permanent population residing under the equator, Australia commences every new year with an old friend- The Australian Open. Melbourne becomes the home of the world’s greatest tennis players for most of January, with 2011 kicking off by helping Queensland flood victims in an exhibition before play begins on Monday, January 17th, the day our No. 1 American takes on Czech Republic’s Jan Hajek, second on an 11am start in Hisense Arena.

Roddick(8) will be facing Hajek for the first time, even though these two pros both turned pro in 2000. The 27-year-old reached a career high of 71 back in 2006, but is currently ranked 96th. Coming into the first Slam of the year cold with no exhibitions under his belt, this unseeded player will be relying solely on his off-season training in an attempt to improve his career-best second round appearance here. These two players only have three things in common: they are both right-handed, they both idolized Andre Agassi, and they both want to reach Round 2.

Here are more stats on Hajek:
Age:27 (07.08.1983)
Birthplace:Olomouc, Czech Republic
Residence:Olomouc, Czech Republic
Height:5’11″ (180 cm)
Weight:176 lbs (80 kg)
Plays:Right-handed
Turned Pro:2000
Coach:Igor Brukner

Next to the US Open, the AO boasts the best fans and most interactive crowds, drawing “NetHeads” from all around the globe. With summer in full force here, the heat can reach nearly 120 degrees Fahrenheit courtside. Also, the rain can storm in on a moment’s notice, which is why Rod Laver and Hisense Arenas now have retractable roofs. Embarking on it’s 42nd year here, the Australian Open is ready to serve and rally with the best and for the best. For full tournament details, go to www.australianopen.com .

Stay tuned to AR.com for everything Down Under at the first Slam of the year.

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With the first Grand Slam of the season only days away, AndyRoddick.com is already working on getting you behind the scenes access. Earlier this week, Andy met with an impressive crowd to promote the new fragrance Lacoste Challenge at Myer in Melbourne. Wife, Brooklyn Decker, tweeted from the appearance, “Crowd waiting to see Andy… I’m hiding… Hehe I want to start yelling embarrassing things, I’ll refrain.”

Check out the full gallery of Andy’s Lacoste Challenge appearance!

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The draw for the Australian Open was made on Friday. Seeded eighth, Andy has been drawn to face Jan Hajek in the first round.

The Australian Open gets underway on Monday. After he reached the final in Brisbane, Andy has spent this week practising in Melbourne. Andy has been placed in the bottom half of the draw and is seeded to meet Juan Monaco in the third round and Gael Monfils in the fourth round. Andy is in the same quarter of the draw as defending champion, Roger Federer.

See the full men’s singles draw here:

http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/scores/draws/ms/r1s4.html

Andy has enjoyed several good runs at the Australian Open. He is a four-time semi-finalist and last year narrowly lost a five-set match to Marin Cilic in the quarter-finals. Andy also played one of his most memorable matches in Melbourne, when in 2003 it took him five hours and a 21-19 final set to get past Younes El Aynaoui in the quarter-finals.

Stay tuned to AndyRoddick.com as we bring you all the latest from the first Grand Slam of 2011!

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Andy has donated $10,800 to the Queensland Flood Relief Appeal in Australia after he reached the final at the Brisbane International last week.

Prior to the tournament, Andy pledged to donate $100 for every ace he served. Andy hit a total of 54 aces throughout the week and following his final against Robin Soderling Andy announced he would be doubling his donation, therefore bringing the total to $10,800.

This month the ATP and WTA will also be helping the Queensland Government’s Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal by donating $10 for every ace hit by their players in Brisbane, Sydney and the Australian Open.

The flooding in Queensland has caused widespead devastation. If you would like to donate, please visit the following link for more information on how to do so:

http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html

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It came down to two breaks in Sunday’s final at the Brisbane International where Robin Soderling defeated Andy 3-6, 5-7. The 5th ranked Swede didn’t drop a set in the tournament. The two battled in unusual conditions when rain delayed play. The stadium is designed with a roof but when a mist of rain began to threaten the court, Andy became nervous for the the players safety.

“I just wanted to make sure we weren’t playing on a slippery court,” Andy said. “I love this tournament but that being said if it was set alone you wouldn’t have the entire tennis world coming down to this area. The end goal is Melbourne, the last thing any player wants to do is risk that.”

Despite the loss and unusual weather conditions, Andy and team Roddick must be pleased with the season opener and preparation for Melbourne.

Stay tuned to AndyRoddick.com for more!

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Andy has booked his place in the Brisbane International final following a victory over Kevin Anderson 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.

After the match, Andy commented:

“I felt like I was in control pretty much the whole match, even in the second set when I had one bad game. I felt like I had more looks at his serve than he had at mine. I actually broke more than I thought I might against his serve.”

Andy served well in the match, hitting 15 aces. This brings Andy’s total up to 42 aces served in the tournament. For every ace Andy hits in Brisbane he is donating $100 to the Queensland Flood Relief Appeal.

In Sunday’s final Andy will face top seed Robin Soderling. Looking ahead to the match Andy said:

“We’re going to see the best of what we’ve seen this week against each other tomorrow. He’s playing great. He served really well today and was in control of his match. He hits the ball so big that a lot of times you’re at his mercy. He’s certainly improved a lot in the past two years. We’ve always had tight matches, so I don’t see why tomorrow will be different.”

The singles final is scheduled to follow the doubles final, which begins at 12 noon (9pm -1 day EST).

Stay tuned to AndyRoddick.com as we bring you all the latest from Brisbane.

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2011 is off to a roaring start with Andy in the first final of the season where he will face 5th ranked Robin Soderling. Soderling booked his spot in Sunday’s final with a 6-3, 7-5 win against Radek Stepanek in his semi-final yesterday. In Andy’s post match semi final interview he shared his excitement for Sunday’s match.

“We’re going to see the best of what we’ve seen this week against each other tomorrow,” Andy said. “He’s playing great. He served really well today and was in control of his match. He hits the ball so big that a lot of times you’re at his mercy. He’s certainly improved a lot in the past two years. We’ve always had tight matches, so I don’t see why tomorrow will be different.”

The tight matches Andy speaks of include five meetings between the two since 2008. Andy has taken the win twice, most recently at the Cincinnati Masters last year.

Check out some stats on Soderling courtesy of the ATP World Tour:
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Top-Players/Robin-Soderling.aspx

Stay tuned to AndyRoddick.com for more from Down Under!

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Meeting for the first time, our 2010 Brisbane International title holder and South Africa’s unseeded Kevin Anderson will fight for a spot in the finals at the Queensland Tennis Centre, playing fourth on Pat Rafter Arena after a 12-noon start on Saturday, January 8th.

The ATP World Tour No. 61 player turned pro back in 2007, reaching a career high of 58th recently in the October, 2010. The towering 24-year-old righty has only faced one seeded player on his climb here, sixth seed Feliciano Lopez in the second round. Prior to reaching this semifinal , only one previous ATP semifinal appearance in Atlanta (l. to Isner) was Anderson’s best career showing. With hopes of surpassing last year’s best, Anderson will be putting it all out there until the very last point, so our No. 1 American will be expecting the unexpected.

Here are more stats on the “JoBurg” native and resident:
Age:24 (18.05.1986)
Birthplace:Johannesburg, South Africa
Residence:Johannesburg, South Africa
Height:6’8″ (203 cm)
Weight:197 lbs (89 kg)
Plays:Right-handed
Turned Pro:2007
Coach:Louis Vosloo, Michael Anderson

Stay tuned to AR.com as Andy continues to defend his title.

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Andy is through to the semi-finals at the Brisbane International after a straight sets win over Marcos Baghdatis. The final score was 6-2, 6-3.

Andy and Baghdatis exchanged breaks early on in the match, but at 3-2, Andy broke the Cypriot’s serve a second time and capitalised on the momentum to take the first set 6-2. The second set went with serve until 3-4, when Baghdatis went down 0-40. Andy needed just the one break point and went on to serve out the set and match 6-3.

Following the match, Andy said,

“I felt good about pretty much everything tonight. The conditions were a little heavier, which made it tougher to create and that’s probably why you saw a lot of break point opportunities; the serves weren’t jumping through.”

“This is probably the first time since May of last year where I haven’t felt like I’m playing catch-up or trying to cover something up. I can play with all my options, because I’m confident that my fitness is there. So it’s more exciting.”

Andy also served a further seven aces in Thursday’s quarter-final, taking his total for the tournament up to 27. For every ace Andy hits this week in Brisbane he is donating $100 to the Queensland Flood Relief Appeal.

In the semi-finals on Saturday, Andy will play South Africa’s Kevin Anderson.

Stay tuned to AndyRoddick.com as we bring you all the latest from Brisbane.

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