When his opponent’s final groundstroke hit the net, Andy Roddick let out an enthusiastic, ‘Yeah’ looking over to his box which included eye candy fiance swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker along with “temporary coach” and David Cup captain Patrick McEnroe along with older brother John Roddick before celebrating his more routine third round victory over 31st seeded Italian Andreas Seppi, 6-2, 7-5, 7-6 (4) Sunday at a packed Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows.

“This is probably the most intimidating court in the world if you’ve never been on it before,” the just turned 26 year-old No.8 seeded American told CBS court reporter Mary Joe Fernandez afterwards to delightful laughter from the New York crowd which enjoyed what they saw.

There stood the former 2003 U.S. Open champion five years removed from his greatest career achievement where he won his only major by grinding from a couple of sets down fighting off match point against David Nalbandian in the semis before using that powerful serve to crush Juan Carlos Ferrero in a lopsided final. It’s the picture which followed after that last ace down the tee where you see a younger Roddick looking like a kid in a candy store with that ear to ear grin as if to say, ‘I really did it.’

That he did and at the time was ranked No.1 in the world and deservedly so. A lot has happened since then for the man who’s still America’s brightest hope when it comes to winning the final tennis grand slam of the year. It wasn’t long ago when he was the biggest threat on grass to Roger Federer pushing him a close fought four sets a few years ago before losing despite one of the best matches of his career. There was also that little run he had with former coach Jimmy Connors a couple of years prior when he went all the way to the final and once again made Federer sweat before falling in four.

Fast forward to the present and now Roddick’s fighting to get back in the top five as the men’s field gets even more competitive. A couple of nights prior, he had to overcome a young up and comer in Latvian Ernests Gulbis who hit the ball even bigger frequently pushing Roddick around for a ridiculous 79 winners- 37 more than the kid from Austin, Texas whose passion always comes out when he plays New York City.

Though the other birthday boy who turned 20 while Andy became 26 had him down a set and 5-3 a couple of points away from deep trouble, Gulbis never could finish off the determined American who used his guile and experience to stay in there. No way could his opponent who entered with a career mark two under .500 keep up this frenetic pace.

Finally, nerves crept in and he began misfiring from the baseline losing concentration while Roddick locked in grabbing the last four games of the set to square the match reeling off seven straight en route to a double break third set turning the tide. He’d pull out a tighter fourth set getting that final break to advance past a tough second round opponent.

“Tonight was probably one of those ones I won on effort,” he would later say Friday night after playing smart efficient tennis committing just 21 unforced errors to his opponent’s 60.

“He was definitely outplaying me for the first two sets. I felt like a little kid out here playing against him,” Roddick quipped before adding:

“And then the clock struck 12, and I started playing, well, as a 26-year-old.”

Laughter ensued from the remainder of a supportive crowd which stayed until 1:30 in the morning showing him the kind of love we’ve seen with our favorite New York sports stars with frequent chants of, “Let’s Go An—dy” and “An—dy Ro—dd—ick.”

Roddick’s always worn his emotion on his sleeves. When things don’t go well as they weren’t for nearly two sets, he’ll do something like smash his racket into smithereens before regaining his composure urged on by legions of supporters who he properly credited for keeping him focused.

“You guys kept me in there when I was losing my head,” a heartfelt Roddick told them to loud cheers. When asked by USA’s Michael Barkan if he had what it took to go all the way, he indicated:

“If this crowd comes with me the whole way, who knows?”

No question Roddick is fully aware how much the overwhelming support of the New York crowd can help him in his quest to win a second U.S. Open. It’s certainly been a challenging year which has seen him ousted in the third round down under, pulling out of the French due to a shoulder injury before a disappointing second round exit at another big slam he was once considered a large threat in Wimbledon.

Unlike many, he opted to skip the Beijing Summer Olympics and play a couple of tuneups which didn’t produce any titles falling to rising Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro in an LA final while losing in the quarters to 93rd ranked Serb Viktor Troicki at the nation’s capital a couple of weeks ago.

Perhaps the extra week off allowed him to enter the Open fresher than he’s been. Now 26, health is a concern for Roddick who still is one of the hardest hitters on the ATP Tour. For that reason alone, you can’t discount the Omaha, Nebraska native. Especially on the hard courts at Ashe.

Even if all the focus is on new No.1 Rafael Nadal, slumping four-time rating champ Roger Federer and even rising No.3 Serb Novak Djokovic, Roddick still has a puncher’s chance and might just get to go through two of the three with a potential quarter showdown against Djokovic and Federer as a projected semifinalist.

For now, Roddick awaits the winner between No.11 seeded Chilean Fernando Gonzalez and lefty Finn Jarkko Nieminen. If he continues to play steady and hit the ball firm as he indicated earlier today, he’s better than either and should setup that intriguing quarterfinal match against Djokovic provided he gets past dangerous 19 year-old Croat Marin Cilic tonight.

Despite winning in straight sets to make the Round of 16, Roddick is fully aware that he must step it up even more if he’s to make that serious push for a second grand slam under the bright lights.

This is his season. It’s the biggest reason he pushes on.