Wimbledon, England ? Head bowed, Andy Roddick trudged off Centre Court, his purple Wimbledon towel dragging along the turf.

As the three-time runner-up at the All England Club headed for the exit, he passed some kids clamoring for an autograph from their front-row perch. Roddick paused and tossed his blue-framed racket underhand. Thanks to his latest earlier-than-anticipated Grand Slam loss, the American won’t be needing it next week.

The eighth-seeded Roddick departed quickly Friday, beaten 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2), 6-4 in the third round by unseeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain. Lopez served spectacularly well, hitting 28 aces, and finally got the better of the 2003 U.S. Open champion after losing all seven previous matches they played.

Roddick turns 29 in August, and he was asked whether, as the years go by, one particularly depressing thought creeps into his mind: He might never win Wimbledon.

“Well, sure. You’re human. I mean, of course it does,” he replied. Then, speaking directly to the reporter, Roddick added: “You know, you may never get your favorite job, either — no offense to your current employer.”

Roddick lost to Roger Federer in the 2004, 2005 and 2009 finals — 16-14 in the fifth set of that last one.

“What do you do? You keep moving forward until you decide to stop,” Roddick said. “At this point, I’ve not decided to stop, so I’ll keep moving forward.”