The Reinvention Of Andy Roddick
Photos: © Henk Abbink
In 2000, Andy Roddick’s career got underway in Miami with his first ATP World Tour win over Fernando Vicente.
A decade later, we are seeing the resurgence of the former World No. 1. Many have suggested Roddick’s best tennis could only be seen in the rear view mirror and that last year’s devastating loss in the Wimbledon final was his last chance to win a major. The 2010 hard court season begs to tell a differerent story as the Nebraska native captured his second title in four finals and notched an ATP Tour leading 26th win.
In a year that has shown uncharacterstic inconsistency from the upper echelon of players, the one constant has been the stellar play of Andy Roddick. He began the year with a title in Brisbane beating his Sony Ericsson Open final opponent, Tomas Berdych, before a right arm injury and Marin Cilic got the better of him in the last eight matchup at the Australian Open. This was followed by a tough loss to Fernando Verdasco in the final of San Jose. The following week, fellow American Sam Querrey bested Roddick in Memphis and the attack dogs were out again. Critics questioned Roddick’s decision to let the US Davis Cup team fend for themselves in Belgrade despite his unrelenting loyalty to Pat McEnroe’s squad over the years. Roddick’s decision stemmed from his desire to focus his efforts on the upcoming back to back Masters 1000 events, the highest level of event on the ATP World Tour.
Roddick has always been an athletic opportunist so when the draw in Indian Wells opened up he pounced, advancing to the final, without beating a player ranked higher than 7, only to fall to the hands of the veteran Ivan Ljubicic.
Not since the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati in 2006, had Roddick captured an event at this level so the frustration of letting the 31 year old Croat wrestle the title from him in Palm Springs should have adversely affected his chances in Miami.
Wrong!
Let’s analyze how he did it and how Roddick can propel himself into the to five once again. For the first time in as long as this tennis pundit can remember, Roddick has taken some chances. In his semifinal win against Rafael Nadal, he recognized he could not simply rely on consistency and his rocket ship of a serve, so he flattened out his forehand and was able to use the right mix of serving, aggression and approaching the net to thwart the Spaniard. One important thing to note is that Rafa was on top of his game after destroying Jo Willy Tsonga 6-3, 6-2 in the quarterfinals in a thoroughly impressive display of tennis.
In past years, Roddick has relied on huge serving and a strategy of allowing his opponents enough rope to hang themselves and the majority of the players on the ATP World Tour, unable to break the Roddick serve, oblige. This style of play has been unsuccessful against the top players as champions do not beat themselves in tight situations, but instead come up with a combination of winners and brilliant tennis.
It was refreshing to see Roddick swinging agressively against Nadal in what Roddick’s coach, Larry Stefanki, described as the freeest he has seen his charge play in years.
If Roddick can continue with this style of play I expect him to be a dominant force once again on the ATP World Tour. The only bad news for Roddick fans is that with the clay court season looming, we may have to wait until Queens Club to watch America’s resurgent No. 1 tennis player add to his 29 ATP World Tour Titles.
Topics: Andy Roddick, Arm Injury, Atp Tour, Atp World Tour, Attack Dogs, Australian Open, Fellow American, Fernando Verdasco, Fernando Vicente, Ivan Ljubicic, Marin Cilic, Nebraska Native, One Constant, Palm Springs, Pat Mcenroe, Rear View Mirror, Sony Ericsson, Tomas Berdych, Upper Echelon, Wimbledon
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