By Nick Georgandis                                       Photo Credit: Getty Images

Andy Roddick, it's that time.

No, not to retire. You're still a few seasons from that.

But it's time to realize that you're not the Top 10 player you were for from 2003 into 2011, and that you don't need to keep trying to be.

On Sunday, Roddick went down meekly to a historical footnote. Because that's what Nicolas Mahut truly is, let's be frank.  The Frenchman is ranked 89th in the world and has done nothing since losing in epic fashion to John Isner two years ago at Wimbledon.

But on Sunday, Mahut thoroughly dominated the 2003 US Open champion, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

The third-set victory was called "a brief act of defiance from a proud player trying to stare down reality" by Fox Sports' Richard Evans, an observation that just about everyone not named Andy Roddick is in agreement with.

Playing on clay and at Roland Garros, where he has had little success, even during his best days, seems like a bizarre choice for Roddick, who had an inspiring victory over Roger Federer at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami earlier this year to prove he's still relevant over all.

Sunday marked the first time Roddick has crashed out in the first round of a Grand Slam event since doing the same at Roland Garros in 2007. At that point he was ranked No. 3 in the world, and was shocked in four sets by No. 125 Igor Andreev.

Why Roddick insists on continuing to play the French Open is a mystery onto itself. Losing to a player ranked as high as Mahut is the norm for him in Paris, not the exception.

In 2002, while ranked No. 14 in the world, he fell to No. 91 Wayne Arthurs in the first round. In 2003, he was sixth in the world and lost in the first round to No. 67 Sargis Sargsian. In 2004, Roddick was No. 2 in the world and lost to No. 125 Oliver Mutis in the second round; In 2005, he was third and lost to No. 62 Jose Acasuso in the second round. In 2006, it was another first-round defeat, retiring while down 4-6, 5-7, 0-1 to No. 68 Alberto Martin. The following year was the aformentioned loss to Andreev, before Roddick actually made a statement on clay in 2009 - making it to the fourth round before falling to Gael Monfils, ranked 10th.

In 2010, it was right back to the miserable losses, albeit in the third round this time, as the eighth-ranked Roddick tumbled against No. 114 Teymuraz Gabashvili in straight sets.

There's no shame in skipping a tournament played on a surface you're just not that good at, particularly when a huge bulk of the competition grows up training on the stuff while you did not.
Roddick has five clay-court titles to his name - exactly one of those outside the United States, and none coming since he won Houston in 2005.

Roddick won't turn 30 until August, which means he's younger than Roger Federer, and perhaps that fact in itself won't let him see the bigger picture here. Unlike Federer, who kept Roddick from at least four more Grand Slame titles, Roddick has been plagued by injury as his career has worn on. 

It started with a left injury in 2007, then a knee, then his back, then a shoulder, then his neck, then his ankle, another knee, another shoulder, a groin, a third shoulder (don't try and do the math), and another hamstring during the Australian Open this year.

That's the sort of aggravation a typical person might have over their entire lifetime, if they were fairly active. Roddick put all 12 of those injuries into less than a four-year period. Is it any wonder his game has suffered during that time? 

Still ranked 30th in the world, Roddick shouldn't have to feel he needs to prove himself to anyone. He's one of only five active players - along with Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin Del Potro - with a Grand Slam title to his name, and one of only four, alongside the Big Three - to have been ranked No. 1 in the world.

Now 7-10 on the season, Roddick needs to remember that tennis is fun, and stop making bad decisions about when and where to play. He needs to hit the tournaments that he loves and that have always loved him: Queen's Club, Wimbledon, the US Open, Cincinnati, Miami, Houston, and the like.

It likely won't be enough to ever see him return to the Top 10, but it will likely prolong his career, enhance his reputation and perhaps most importantly, remind him why he loves the game so much in the first place.