KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. — It must be love, because most women would not permit themselves to be wrapped in the kind of big, sweaty, clothes-rumpling hug Andy Roddick gave his new fiancée, Brooklyn Decker, on the patio of the players’ lounge after he beat Roger Federer for only the second time in 17 aggravating attempts.

“I guess all I had to do was be engaged,” he said.

Well, yes. Along with serving exceptionally, and playing clean tennis, and not letting Federer’s absurdly good stuff-it-down-your-throat passing shots rent too much space in his head, and converting on the one precious break point Federer offered him.

Roddick’s game gives him little margin for error against Federer. He’s left everything on the court against the world No. 1 with nothing to show for it on a few occasions. His burdensome 11-match losing streak dated back to 2003; he hadn’t taken a set from Federer since late 2006.

No wonder he bent over, drenched in perspiration and relief, after getting the best of Federer 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 in the Sony Ericsson Open quarterfinals. The win snapped a stretch that encompassed some of Roddick’s most heartbreaking losses, including finals at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

When Roddick straightened up, he let his face relax into a wide, easy grin that was reminiscent of the years when he first blasted onto the scene with his nuclear serve. Traces of that hyperkinetic kid remain in Roddick, but he’s 25 now and has the perspective athletes gain only after they’ve run headlong into a few walls. He exuded more quiet satisfaction than wild emotion afterward.

“That’s what you wake up for,” he said. “That’s what you go to the practice court for. You can have the low moments, but those kind of — those 10, 15 seconds after a big win probably make up for a lot of bad days.”

But, he cautioned, “I’m not going to sit here and act like all of a sudden I’ve fixed the problem. I think I’m batting 2-for-16. Still pretty crappy; it’s a little less crappy.”

Federer implied that Roddick was due to beat him this time.

“I didn’t make it tough enough for him to come up with good shots,” said Federer, whose serve lacked its usual pinpoint efficacy, and who shanked two backhands serving at 3-4 in the third set, then swatted a ball into the net to yield the break point that turned things in Roddick’s direction with shocking swiftness. “I missed too many, and I think that was the disappointing part about the match today.

[1] Click here to read the full article at ESPN.