posted Jan 14, 2007

Roddick is making the most of what he has at the moment, sure, but how much does he really have? Isn't his game ultimately a bit limited to dominate for any length of time? I can imagine him having a spell at no. 2, but not being clear of the competition the way Nadal has been this last while.

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posted Jan 14, 2007

Andy Roddick is my pick for the Australian Open and there is a good reason why. Since Cincinnati in the Summer, his game has evolved by leaps and bounds. It seems that under the guidance of tennis legend Jimmy Connors, Andy has finally laid to rest his ghosts and found the game that suits him best. The monstrous serve that he possesses is now being used to set up a serve and volley strategy which has been sorely lacking from modern tennis.

It is as though he has been watching reruns of Pete Sampras matches over and over until he learned how the tennis master became unstoppable. There is little wonder as to why he beat Federer at Kooyong. Serve and volleying is unbeatable when used effectively.

If Federer plays Roddick at the Australian Open, it is guaranteed that the American will finally turn around his head-to-head.

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posted Jan 14, 2007

Dr_Sincere. Considering Federer's 12-1 career record against Roddick he obviously has a clear psychological advantage. I don't believe Roddick will ever beat Federer in a competitive match until Federer is past his best. When you've lost to an opponent twelve times out of thirteen there must be all kinds of demons in your head.

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posted Jan 14, 2007

Andy Roddick is now under the supervision of one of the true mental giants of the game, Jimmy Connors. There is no doubt that Connors has not just been teaching Roddick the technical side of the game, but also the mental.

There were times when Connors would lose to McEnroe and Borg by the most horrendous one-sided scorelines, but you would never have noticed this by his intensity in the next match. Roddick seems to have been influenced in this area, as he was within one point of defeating Federer in a "competitive match" at the Masters Cup. The American has finally slayed his demons. If they meet at the Australian Open, expect to see him fight for every point no matter what the scoreline is. Something is telling me that Roddick is going to beat Federer in their next match, and that something is common sense.

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posted Jan 14, 2007

Dr_Sincere. Federer has a 12-1 record against Roddick. Whatever it is that's telling you Roddick will win their next match it's certainly not commonsense.

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posted Jan 14, 2007

Previous matches mean nothing when current form indicates that one player is clearly playing better than the other. Andy Roddick is no longer the one-dimensional baseline robot that he was when Federer notched up all the victories. Roddick's last two matches with Federer, one extremely close (match points), and the other a victory, show that he is now ready to beat his nemesis. I look forward to their next encounter.

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posted Jan 14, 2007

'a very stupid and naive comment'

Sorry but I don't think so, and even though I'm a huge fan of Roger Federer I would be seriously concerned about Federer facing an in form Roddick, who is the only player for the last few years who has posed any threat to Federer in the slams on a regular basis, until Nadal came of age. Roddick is the biggest threat to Federer winning this title. He was close to beating Federer in Shanghai, much closer than Nadal was in the same event. Lets not forget that this is a hard court, and it's Roddick's best surface, and suits his style of play. I don't believe Nadal will get to the final, I think he will be out at either the last 16 or Quarter final stage.

Also please don't refer to people as being 'very stupid' as I'm not!

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posted Jan 15, 2007

Andy Roddick will never be a rival of Federers . But he will be the next no.2 in the world. I agree Nadal will go out at the A.O a lot sooner than anyone thinks. Probably 1/4 final like you said. Roddick has improved so much in 6 months it is a pleasure to watch him play. I hope he does well here. He deserves it . He has worked so hard

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posted Jan 15, 2007

Give Roddick due. Federer had his number- However since the introduction of Conners, Roddick has gotten closer to Federer: US Open, took a set; Masters Cup; denied 3 match points. Kooyong; won.

I dont care if that was an exhibition. If you give someone an inch, they will take a mile. Before the door was shut and locked, now Federer has let him in.

It mirrors Federer vs Nadal. Federer beats Nadal at Wimbledon and the door opened. Federer beats Nadal again at the Masters and at an Exhibition.

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posted Jan 16, 2007

Roddick IS useless on clay I'm afraid, though so are most Brits to be fair. Nadal's last six months have been patchy and Roddick's have been good but it's a big leap to say that Nadal will lose the world number two spot. In fact, I would rather have a European one and two (Americans had it their own way in the '90s so why not?) Nadal can play on hard courts (two of his titles have been won on this surface) and the Australian Open surface may well suit his game.
Surely January is a little early to be making these predictions anyway?
By the way, everyone is surely entitled to their own views - no need to trash other people's posts because you don't agree with them!

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