Today we have a guest column from Sean Bugg. I ran across his buggblog and really enjoyed it. Sean is a freelance writer, car reviewer, book addict, amateur tennis player and part-time caterer. He’s also co-publisher of Metro Weekly, Washington, DC’s gay and lesbian newsmagazine, if that wasn’t enough. His language is a bit more salty than MVN likes so I’ve inserted some **’s where appropriate. Sit back and enjoy.

I’ve had a couple of non-tennis-oriented readers ask me what the big deal was with Andy Roddick’s behavior in his match against Kei Nishikori that I complained about earlier this week. Without some sort of context — either experience seeing Roddick’s a**hole act in operation or knowledge of the spoken and unspoken rules of on-court tennis behavior — the “just stick me with it next time” thing doesn’t translate well, I suppose.

Jon Wertheim at Sport Illustrated takes on the exact subject in response to a reader who notes, rightly: “Bad news for Andy Roddick if he has to resort to blatant intimidation to win a match over an 18-year-old newcomer.” Wertheim, who I think generally maintains a great balance in criticizing players’ stupid behavior while defending them from unrealistic expectations, doesn’t completely agree about the Nishikori incident — “I’m not sure this episode rises to the level of ‘felony trash talk'” — he does go on to flat-out state that Roddick has morphed from a tennis golden boy into an abrasive a**hole.

The dirty secret in men’s tennis is that the guy has been fairly insufferable lately.

This isn’t just from the grumps in the media. This has been noticed by everyone from ATP personnel to former Grand Slam champs to current players. And this diminishing reputation has nothing to do with match results or a stagnating game. It’s all about disposition.

I haven’t hidden my fondness for Roddick over the years. But it’s probably about time he got called on his you-know-what. And heeding Roddick’s advice to Nishikori, we’re going to stick him with it: I cringed as Roddick dressed down Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and winced as he sucked down champagne and blew off the Portland, Ore., kids seeking autographs at the Davis Cup, and bristled at this laughable, Connors-ian me-against-the-world routine.

But he completely lost me in Australia. Roddick’s tirade against the umpire — some poor guy with kids watching at home — was not only low-rent, but also played to every Ugly American stereotype. Roddick played the role of posturing bully frat boy, even when he didn’t have right on his side.

The Tsonga match Wertheim mentions was from the 2007 Australian Open, and marks the point where I pretty much gave up on Roddick. It was an appalling display on Roddick’s part, and it just made it all the sweeter this year when Roddick went out early and Tsonga made the final. And this year’s behavior by Roddick was demonstrably worse, as Wertheim points out.

This is disappointing on two levels. First, as Wertheim labors to explain, Roddick has done a lot of good during his career. He launched a worthwhile foundation, he devotes his time to charity (including annual appearances playing tennis with Elton John for his AIDS foundation), and generally has used his wealth and fame in positive ways that many athletes — hell, most people period — can’t be bothered with.

Second, in the ever-more-distant past he provided an engaging and entertaining face to American men’s tennis. He brought an aw-shucks, corn-fed, Midwestern attitude to a sport that too often gets caught up in its own stuffiness (in the U.S., at least). And in an age when the American presence in tennis has become increasingly less relevant by the day, he was one of the bright lights who could help motivate and bring attention to the game.

Now, however, he’s fully bought into the boorish, combative and self-centered attitude that so often made Jimmy Connors a narcissistic blight on the tennis court. I actually think Roddick’s descent into a miasma of machismo began during his tutelage with Brad Gilbert, but Connors bears responsibility for bringing it into full flower. Many seem to believe that Roddick’s attitude is born from his frustration with being blocked by Federer from winning Grand Slams — problem is, it’s not Federer who’s been stopping him over the past year. From known young stars such as Richard Gasquet to unknowns who flare into greatness for one Slam match, Roddick keeps aiming for the Master but getting his hat handed to him by also-rans (or, in the case of Gasquet, potential future masters). It’s hard not to suspect that those losses, combined with Coach Connors, have totally stoked Roddick’s inner boor.

I’ll admit, I’m a bit of an outlier on this issue at times because I have such disdain for Connors, et al. I don’t believe trash talking, a**hole behavior belongs on the court. Competitiveness, yes. Loud cursing? You fucking bet. I don’t think I could make it through a match without at some point saying, “You stupid son of a bitch.” But I’m always saying that to myself — if I were saying it to my opponent, I would deserve to have my ass kicked from here to sundown.

Perhaps, as Wertheim speculates, Roddick’s current behavior is a phase that he’ll pass through before he turns into the second coming of American tennis’s other reborn hero, Andre Agassi. I truly hope he does. I’ve always thought Roddick took too many hits for his “unimaginative” game — accomplishing what he has so far proves he has something special in both his strokes and his head. Too bad he’s chosen to obscure that by becoming a petty, brutish oaf.