American tennis star Andy Roddick says he feels fit for the first time in more than six months after winning his battle against the strength-sapping illness mononucleosis.
World No. 8 Roddick said he fought against the illness for most of last year when he failed to reach the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the French and U.S. Opens.
He said on Wednesday he had worked hard to regain his fitness during the recent offseason and would look to next week's Brisbane Invitational tournament as a springboard into a better 2011.
''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.
A former world No.1, Roddick's ranking dropped as low as 13 in August last year before getting back into single figures, but he now felt ready to push for the world's top five.
''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,'' Roddick said.
''You feel like you can play any way you want so I feel fresh and I feel enthused and ready.''
Roddick beat Czech Radek Stepanek to win last year's final at Brisbane and said he was looking to the Jan. 2 to 9 tournament for a similar show of early season form as he builds up for next month's Australian Open.
''I came in last year and hadn't been playing much so this was a really good springboard into the year for me,'' he said.
''I like being in the same country but also I like this event. My wife enjoys coming here so let's not pretend I make any decisions.''
Roddick is second seed for Brisbane, behind world No.4 Robin Soderling of Sweden.
