The new Roger Federer – the one who makes mistakes, occasionally fails, and realizes his limitations – is much more interesting than the old one. Last year’s Wimbledon between Federer and Nadal featured superior tennis but this year’s match between Federer and Andy Roddick was equally as tense. To complete the French Open-Wimbledon double, Federer needed to honestly re-evaluate his game in order to improve it. At Roland Garros, his improved ability to slide on the baseline was paired with a new drop shot; at the All England Club he was forced to serve impeccably and persevere as his best …
Federer def. Roddick 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4), 6-2
Reminiscent of that Sampras-Agassi match in the 2001 – which was also regrettably scheduled for the quarter-finals due to a poor draw – Roger Federer ousted Andy Roddick from the U.S. Open in straight sets last night. Like the classic match half a dozen years ago, the first two sets were played without any breaks of service. However, Roddick could not match Federer’s relentless play. At key times, it seemed that Roddick made poor judgments or tried for too much; Federer remained focused and played his (superb) game. In the 2001 match, Pete Sampras prevailed because he possessed a more …
Marcos Baghdatis and Andy Roddick
Watching Marcos Baghdatis upset Andy Roddick at the Australian Open, I realised that tennis is a metaphor for other sports. First of all, I share commentator Dick Enberg’s opinion that the reason we all love sports is because anything can happen. Secondly, this match illustrated a bevy of non-sport related fundamentals that are relevant to any athlete or coach What I learnt from Andy Roddick: Roddick’s body language was appalling. He looked like a loser, quibbled with the umpired, and at times did not seem to be in a ready position. There are things you can’t control – the arena …