INDIAN WELLS, Calif. - He's the best in his sport in America. At one time he was the best in the world. Yet Andy Roddick is no different than the rest of us when someone asks if he has a feeling of what it's like to be Tiger Woods.

"No,'' said Roddick. "Not like that. I'm not going to pretend to understand what it's like to be in that sort of situation. I don't know that any athlete can really relate to what's going on right there.''

What went on Tuesday for Roddick was a victory in the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, east of Palm Springs, the biggest tennis event since the Australian Open in January. Andy defeated the young Dutchman Thiemo de Baker, 6-3, 6-4.

What went on Tuesday for Tiger, of course, was an announcement that after weeks of distress and forced idleness he was coming back to golf, entering the Masters.

"You know,'' said Roddick, echoing the thoughts of others, "normally stories come and go. This (Woods) is turning into a six-month story already.''

Only three and a half months, to be accurate, but you can understand Roddick losing track of time. That happens to tennis players, if unintentionally. One day they're future champions and seemingly the next day they're about to retire.

Roddick's years of greatness are coming to a close. He's 27 and has slipped to eighth in the ATP rankings. That U.S. Open championship of 2003 which seemed a prelude to other Grand Slam titles never has been duplicated.

He still has game. It's the people such as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, all competing here in the desert, who are the problems. And while there's no sin losing to any of those, all Slam winners the last few years, there's no satisfaction either.

A year or two ago at Wimbledon, Roddick correctly pointed out that once he won a major there wasn't much left to achieve except winning another major, a curse for those who reach a summit so early in their career.

Andy's been in three Wimbledon finals since then, one U.S. Open final. But Federer was across the net each time.

Maybe the first year of the new decade proves magical. Andy's spouse, the model Brooklyn Decker, was on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Could that be an omen of sorts?

So far Roddick has played four tournaments in 2010, winning at Brisbane, reaching the finals at San Jose and going to the quarters of the Australian Open and at Memphis.

"I like the way I played in Australia,'' said Roddick, who was beaten in five sets by Marin Cilic. "I thought with the exception of getting banged up there a little bit on kind of a flukish thing, I played well.''

Now he's playing the NCAA pools well. Roddick, who grew up in Omaha and lives in Austin, is maybe the biggest fan on the tennis tour, prompting some to ask his favorite sports.

"Gosh,'' said Roddick, "that's tough. In no particular order, because that's obviously dependent upon the time of year, NFL is great. Anything I can play fantasy sports in is fantastic.

"March Madness is great. This is probably my favorite event just because it lasts a little bit of time, and it seems everybody can get involved. You don't need to be a sports fan to fill out a bracket.''

The BNP Paribas bracket in which Roddick finds himself puts him against Jurgen Melzer in the next round. The winner of that runs into Marcos Baghdatis who Tuesday night upset Federer, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6.

Mens' tennis in the U.S. used to be Roddick and James Blake, but Blake has tumbled. Maybe Sam Querry and John Isner will get up there, but they are outnumbered by the eastern Europeans who fill the courts the way Americans do basketball courts.

Roddick said he wasn't 100 percent at San Jose but entered because of a commitment. Tennis, even more than golf, is personality-driven. Andy was the draw because he was in the draw.

"Sure there's a lot of obligations,'' Roddick conceded. "I mean I don't think it's all on me, but I pulled out of Indy two years in a row, and they went belly up. There's certainly a responsibility there, which makes me cheer for Isner and Querry even more.''

Roddick didn't say whether he was cheering for Tiger Woods - one surmises he is - or against him. But having heard the way Augusta is in control of its tournament he said he finds a parallel to the way Wimbledon is administrated.

"They've kept their traditions for so long,'' said Roddick. "It either rubs you the wrong way, or you buy in and embrace the tradition.''

Andy's embraced Wimbledon, and as we learned conclusively, Tiger very much embraces the Masters.