TENNIS in DEPTH.

Andy Roddick has decided against playing at the clay-court Rome Masters next week, citing personal reasons.

The Rome Masters is a mandatory stop for top-ranked players on the tour, but the world No. 7 Roddick will not be fined for skipping it because he is allowed one free exemption per year as a veteran player with over 600 matches played on the circuit. Roddick also skipped Rome last year, which means he doesn’t having any rankings points to defend next week.

The former world No. 1 star, who also skipped the Monte Carlo Masters last week, is expected to play at the Madrid Masters, which will get underway May 9. The Monte Carlo Masters is no longer a mandatory event for the top men.

Rome serves as a tune-up for the French Open, where Roddick had his best-ever showing — a fourth-round one — last year.

In Roddick’s last outing, he captured the Miami Masters event three weeks ago.

Rome will also have to do without injured top-10 stars Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champion, and Nikolay Davydenko, both of whom are out with serious wrist injuries.

The 2010 French Open will commence May 23 in Paris.

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