Regardless of Andy Roddick’s assertion that he is not one to sob, a tear was most certainly ever so near as he finally was given reward for his admirable determination that decreed Roger Federer was beatable.

In the past 11 times these two contemporaries had met, Roddick had been forced to accept second – a morale sapping run that extended all the way back to the summer of 2003 through a couple of Wimbledon finals and another at the US Open.

Roddick is not one for reading historical tomes and certainly will have never thumbed through The Teacher's Manual' written in 1840 by the American educator Thomas H. Palmer. But he is a committed disciple of his compatriot’s famous phrase ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try try again.’

That is exactly what Roddick has been doing these past five years and finally it came good as he summoned up one last crunching serve to again underline the question marks over Federer’s head but also prove that this 25 year-old is not quite the spent force when it comes to the very top of the game that many judge him to be.

In the end of course it was not Federer at his imperious best. How could it be when he lost a run of nine successive points just as the match was supposed to be boiling to a climax? A couple of the framed backhand cross court shots that flew horrendously wide as Roddick broke the Swiss serve to love were the sort of stuff to make the most ordinary player blush, let alone potentially the finest exponent of the game the world has ever known.

But credit to Roddick for stoically taking his chance to win 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 and ensure that Federer has now contested four tournaments this year and failed to even reach a final. The American has gone through a traumatic time of late; losing his coaching mentor Jimmy Connors on one hand and winning the heart of his wife to be, much in demand model Brooklyn Decker on the other.

Through all the ups and downs there has been one constant in his life, the desire to finally get the better of Federer. Few were party to a scene at Wimbledon after the 2005 final when frustration finally got the better of Roddick when he walked off the court and in the privacy of the ante-room where the players are made to wait he started to yell at himself: “What can I do to beat him?” Many has witnessed the frustration and despondency that followed crushing defeats like a 6-4,6-0 defeat in Bangkok or that so memorable 6-4,6-0,6-2 thrashing by Federer at last year’s Australian Open when many respected judges insist the world no.1 came nearer than he has ever done to producing perfect tennis.

“I figure I was due,” said Roddick with more than a touch of irony. “He hadn't missed a ball in a crucial moment for about six years against me. I figured the law of statistics had to come my way eventually. I said I would hang around until I beat him. I’m just glad I’ve done while I’ve still got a little hair left.”

Purists will continue to say that Roddick possesses a big serve and a thudding forehand but is a player with grave limitations on his backhand and is susceptible whenever he tries to volley. It is hard to argue otherwise and try as he might, the right-hander who hails from Nebraska but now lives in Texas, struggles to find a Plan B when his basic game proves unsuccessful.

However sport is all about taking opportunities and this was the perfect case in point. There were some points that seemed to suggest Federer was well on the way to recapturing every aspect of his game, there were others that once again reiterated to widely held belief that he needs to employ a coach to help him back to where he wants to be form-wise. Yet it was a night Roddick had long been waiting for and he deserved to savour every nano-second of the relief, elation and joy the result gave him.

“Unlike most, I don't think I ever gave up on having a chance,” he maintained. And that’s the important thing.