genealogy

Blonger of the Month.

The top-ranked American player and fourth-ranked player in the world as of July 2007, Andy finished sixth in the 2006 ATP Race. He became a Grand Slam singles champion when he won the title at the 2003 U.S. Open.

For all these reasons and more, Andy Roddick is our Blonger of the Month.

Come to think of it, he'll be our Blonger of the Month until further notice.

Andy's great-great-grandfather is Michael Belonger — you could look it up!

Roddick Genealogy Homepage

Blonger of the Month Andy Roddick shows what he's really made of:

RODDICK OKAY AS FIRE AT ROME HOTEL KILLS 3
By Associated Press
Published May 2, 2004

The thing that struck Blanche Roddick, at home in Boca Raton, was how calm her son sounded.

It was early Saturday in Rome, and Andy Roddick was standing on the balcony of his burning hotel, speaking into his cell phone and describing in a newsman's measured clip the chaos all around him.

Guests at the Grand Hotel Parco dei Principi were trying to escape the flames by jumping onto the wraparound balcony outside Roddick's sixth-floor suite. He heard screaming outside his door.

By the time it was under control, the blaze killed three.

Blanche suggested that Andy - in Rome to play in this week's Italian Open - wet some bathroom towels and stick them under his door.

"Mom," he said, "it's way beyond that."

Roddick, the reigning U.S. Open champion and the No.2-ranked player in the world, awoke around 5 a.m. to an acrid smell. He found the front door, swung it open and was assaulted by billowy black smoke.

There were people in the hallway, groping for fresh air. Some were hysterical. Roddick, 21, pulled almost a dozen people into his spacious room and herded them onto the balcony.

There they huddled, awaiting help. Soot was falling and bodies were landing on Roddick's terrace. Roddick caught Sjeng Schalken, a 6-foot-4 fellow player, who had jumped from his room on the seventh floor. Schalken's wife, Ricky, was another of the half-dozen people Roddick guided to a safe landing.

At one point, Roddick told his mother, "I have my head about me. It's amazing how calm I am."

On the floor below Roddick, an American tied bedsheets together to make a rope. James Lawery, 58, of Georgia, tried to shimmy to safety from his balcony. He fell to his death.

Bernice and Paul Busque, a Canadian couple in their 60s, were the other casualties. They died of asphyxiation.

Roddick told his mother there were two dozen people jumbled together, waiting to be rescued.

Roddick was still on the phone with his mother when the emergency vehicles stopped in front of the building and firefighters spilled out. She had to laugh at what she heard him say next.

"Hey," Roddick cried out. "You guys with the ladder. If you come over here, I'll buy you pizza!"

Before they hung up, Blanche Roddick could hear Andy delivering instructions to the people around him. Then she heard him say, "I'll be the last one down."

In time, Roddick made it to the ground floor. Several people he recognized were standing outside. The 200 guests who were evacuated included Mike and Bob Bryan, the No.1-ranked U.S. doubles team. They were barefoot and dazed.

Two young American female tourists were questioned by police over the origin of the blaze, which started in their room, gutting it and another.

No players were injured, said Nicola Arzani, communications director for the ATP Tour. The Italian Open starts Monday.

In Rome for the Italian Open, Andy Roddick helps fellow hotel guests to safety during a fire that claims three lives.