By Caroline Cameron

It’s quickly turning to fall and we’re already bracing ourselves for the first snowfall.  Hockey and baseball are on our minds…but tennis?

For the casual tennis fan, the tennis season seems to end after the U.S. Open in September.  It’s the official end of summer.  But it seems that the tennis season never ends, as one year bleeds into the other.

I’ve always believed that the professional tennis season is too long and doesn’t have an adequate offseason.  The players need rest so they don’t burn out and players are constantly fighting for a shorter season.

Even for fans, the long season can be exhausting.  After the North American summer hard court swing, fans tend to lose interest come fall.

For instance, for the first time in eight years, Roger Federer has fallen out of the Top 3 in the ATP rankings.  Andy Murray has taken the No. 3 spot after winning three consecutive titles in Bangkok, Tokyo, and Shanghai.  Murray has been on a hot streak and has won 25 of his 26 matches since mid August.

But are people taking notice?  I’ll just say this: if it was July as opposed to October, Murray would be getting a lot more attention, especially in North America.

By Caroline Cameron

Andy Roddick hasn’t had a good year.

The former world number one hasn’t won a title since February and he’s no longer the top ranked American men’s player.  Mardy Fish has taken over the top spot and Roddick has fallen to number 15 in the world.

To make matters worse, Roddick was upset by Kevin Anderson today in the opening round of the China Open, 4-6, 5-7.

The South African has had a successful season.  He’s reached a career high number 31 in the world, won his first ATP World Tour title, in his hometown event no less, and he stunned Andy Murray in the first round of the Rogers Cup in Montreal this past August.

But lucky for us, Roddick supplied us with some entertainment in his post match press conference.  When a reporter asked Roddick if he was considering retirement, Roddick responded with…well, a typical Roddick comment.  But based on the applause after Roddick’s remark, the rest of the press conference seemed to enjoy it.

After the video hit the Internet, reports suggested that Roddick “stormed out” of the press conference after his abrupt response.  Roddick took to Twitter to clear the air:

“About this whole ‘walked out of a press conference’ thing,” Roddick posted.  ”Moderator announced that it was last question before my retirement response.  Definitely did not get up in the middle and ‘walk out of interview’.”

And who says tennis is boring?