MELBOURNE, Australia -- Andy Roddick, always a champion in the interview room, said he was humbled by Tuesday's announcement that he will be enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame on July 22 in Newport, Rhode Island.

"I know the standard lines of how honored you are and how much it means to you," Roddick said. "It's different. It's extremely true. I'm not Roger [Federer]. I'm not Serena [Williams]. I'm not one of these people where it's just a matter of years passing. So I'm incredibly thankful.

"I knew I was in [the Hall of Fame] with a shot, kind of like my playing career, but you didn't know if you were going to get over that hurdle. 'Hall of Famer' has a deep meaning to me."

Roddick was the last American man to win a Grand Slam tournament. The 2003 US Open champion will be joined in the class of 2017 by four-time Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters and four-time Paralympian medalist in wheelchair tennis Monique Kalkman-van den Bosch.

Andy Roddick's lone Grand Slam title came in the 2003 US Open, which is the last time an American man won a Grand Slam in singles. Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Roddick, a former world No. 1, retired after the 2012 season after winning 32 career singles titles and $20 million in prize money. Perhaps his most memorable match, however, was a loss.

Roddick fell to Federer 16-14 in the fifth set of the dramatic 2009 Wimbledon final.

It was the third time Roddick lost a Wimbledon final to the 17-time Grand Slam champion.

Clijsters won 41 career singles titles, including the US Open in 2005, '09 and '10 and the Australian Open in 2011, and more than $24 million in prize money.

"I feel very, very honored to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame," she said. "It is a huge honor to be amongst a list of so many great tennis players who I admired when I was growing up and some great players who I played with in my tennis career as well."

On Tuesday evening, Roddick was welcomed by more than 20 Hall of Fame members in a ceremony at Rod Laver Arena. Rod Laver himself was among the guests, as were Martina Navratilova, Margaret Court, John McEnroe, Ken Rosewall, Stan Smith and Lindsay Davenport.

Clijsters, who recently gave birth to her third child, was not on hand in Melbourne. She was recognized by video sent to the arena.

In the contributor category, journalist Steve Flink and groundbreaking sports scientist Vic Braden will be inducted posthumously.

Roddick, who retired after the 2012 season, was asked whether there was a twinge when his Australian Open record for games played was surpassed by Ivo Karlovic. Roddick defeated Younes El Aynaoui in a 21-19 fifth set in 2003, but the 6-foot-11 Karlovic prevailed 22-20 over Horacio Zeballos in the first round.

"Yes, but I did it from 6 feet tall," Roddick said, drawing a big laugh from reporters. "I didn't even need the extra foot.

"Listen, you watch a game long enough, you're going to have some stuff, some cool stuff, that happens. I think it's naive to think that stuff lasts forever, especially with the 7-footers lurking around.

"They like to hog all the long records."