Roddick back after illness

Andy Roddick says he is in the best shape he has been in for some time after winning his battle against mononucleosis

A-Rod looking forward to new season after difficult 2010

Andy Roddick says he is in the best shape he has been in for some time, after winning his battle against the strength-sapping illness mononucleosis. The American will start the new season ranked eighth in the world when he kicks off in the Brisbane Invitational tournament in the new year. He failed to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the French and US Opens in 2010, but said he hadn't felt 100 per cent since May. "For me it's just a matter of getting right, getting healthy," Roddick said. "I battled sickness for a big part of last year and from there I just felt like I was playing catch-up. "You train hard and you get hurt in training coming back. You don't train, you rest and you try and come back and your body is not right and it shows. "It's the first time I've felt right since last May so when you are fit it takes a lot of the mental pressure off. "You feel like you can play any way you want so I feel fresh and I feel enthused and ready." Roddick won in Brisbane last year and is looking forward to starting the build-up to the Australian Open, which starts on January 17. "I came in last year and hadn't been playing much so this was a really good springboard into the year for me."