Qubax
Professional
Past, Present, Future.
…
I am a big Andy Roddick fan. As can be seen by my avatar. However, if you notice my signature, I don’t believe I am a homer.
There are some fans who are too negative saying Roddick will not get past the 2nd round of slams nowadays. Others pick him to win a slam(usually Wimbeldon or the US Open each year)
I believe firmly if Roddick can remain healthy for 3 or 4 straight months (Yes, maybe a tall order) that most fans, pundits, and critics will be surprised at how well Roddick plays and how he stacks up against everyone in the world outside of the Top 4.
Past:
Roddick burst onto the scene with fanfare, a serve, and the image of being the next great American Tennis player. The fact is Roddick was always quite average(sans the Serve that is). And while Andy is often excused for being in the Rafa and Roger era in his prime years, he actually broke onto the scene before either Federer or Nadal were reaching their peaks and after Agassi and Sampras had their best days behind them.
To be honest in Roddick’s first 2 or 3 relevant seasons from 2001-2004 the era of Tennis was quite weak. Moya, Hewitt, Ferrero, Nalbandian were the top of the game. And an okay Roddick, with a great serve was a Major Championship factor.
Ofcourse, I’m not sure we always know if we are in a weak or a strong era while it’s happening. And most saw the continual elevation of play, racquet and string technology, fitness-nutrition, etc., and probably didn’t think that what Andy was accomplishing early in his career was due, in part, to a lull at the top of the game.
The fact is you may not be able to fairly compare a 24 year old Federer with a 24 year old Laver. Too much has changed. But I think it’s a lot more realistic to compare a 21 yr old Hewitt with a 21 yr old Sampras, or Nadal, or Djokovic, etc. And the truth is Roddick was competing with what he was dealt, and what Andy was dealt at a young age was a mediocre field. A field where based on Roddick’s serve, aggression, confidence and determination he was a very real Slam Factor.
Do we really think that if Andy was the same age as Sampras coming up that he would have had any more success denting Pistol Pete’s slam totals then Agassi had? Probably not.
So while the emergence of Roger and then Rafa surely brought on a rare and difficult era, the beginning of Andy’s career was actually in the midst of a mediocre field.
Then the 2003 US Open validated Andy as a great young American Tennis player, and since at the time, I doubt the field was seen as weak as it is now, there was no reason to believe that Andy was nothing less then a future multi-slam winner with a decent chance of following in the footsteps of McEnroe,Sampras, Agassi, as the next great dominant US Champion. My contention is ofcourse two fold. The era was weak, and Roddick just wasn’t THAT good.
But he was the sexy, young, brash, American Jock. Who with a big serve, FH, and bulldog mentality had all the makings of the next big star.
So in comes Roger. He’s just too good. Probably the greatest of all time. Then in comes Nadal and this growing generation of all court tennis players. Roddick who had been projected and anointed as the next big star just wasn’t measuring up.
It was a slow decline ofcourse. Dropping from 1 to 2….to 3 and then 4….eventually dipping out of the Top 5.
Roddick had a few problems in the 2004-2009 era.
A. His game wasn’t evolving.
B. I think he was immature and needed to grow up. This led to several coaching changes
C. Fed/Nadal era did not help.
I think when Stefanki came in at the beginning of 2009 Roddick began to evolve. And their have been two phases.
Phase 1: Roddick loses the 15 pounds, gets quicker around the court and improves his defence. This needed to happen, and in and of itself was not a bad move. It was not a move that dealt with Roddick’s forehand, which had degenerated into a loopy, puff ball mess.
During Phase 1: Roddick saw some gains. He beat Nadal in a ATP 1000 Final, had the Epic SW19 final with Federer and continued his streak of being in the Top 10 and winning atleast one 500 or better tournament every year.(Memphis Last year)
The problem with Phase 1 is it should have come in about 2006 or 2007, not the beginning of 2009. Andy lost 2 or 3 good years there. Because while improving his defence, movement and fitness was a good thing and necessary, it was very incomplete on it’s own. And was only a positive stride if he used those gains as a base to then work on offence. And he wasn't getting any younger.
Because much like Agassi did, patrolling the baseline, directing traffic, and shortening points. Andy needed to get more aggressive as he aged, not less aggressive. That’s not to say losing 15 pounds, being in better shape and having better defence was mutually exclusive with also learning to play more aggressively.
Phase 2:
I think Phase 2 started after the Australian Open 2011 when was absolutely dismantled and embarrassed by Stan Wawrinka. He toyed with him. Hit billions of winners and just frankly, blew Roddick off the court. People had been saying for years that Andy needed to regain his powerful FH, and be more aggressive off the ground, on returns etc, etc.
Well I think the beginning of Roddick becoming more aggressive was after that 2011 Aussie Open, where Roddick himself admitted that he needed to do something to deal with these big hitters(paraphrase) And I know what you are thinking. “Huh? More aggressive!? What have you been watching? Where is their any evidence that Andy is being more aggressive?.”
Well I believe if you watch AR matches as closely as I do, you can see the evolution slowly taking shape.
There have been two problems with Andy becoming more aggressive though.
Firstly, he’s hardly been healthy long enough to implement his slow gradual increase in offense. Secondly, while I believe Andy is improving his offensive game I think he puts a preference on his fitness, cardio and physical base and only works secondarily on ANY hitting improvements he may have in mind. I think this is why it’s a shame that Roddick didn’t hook up with Stefanki in 2006 or 2007. IMO, he kinda wasted a few prime years there.
Now, one could argue that all of Roddick’s “track work” is putting undue stress and extra miles on the legs and Roddick needs to hit, hit, hit with new tactics and aggression in practice. Atleast this needs to be more of a priority then just the running hills in the hot Austin Sun routine. There is probably some truth to that.
What there is also truth to however is that Roddick is playing more aggressively. He just hasn’t been healthy long enough to fully implement it etc.
But it is slowly, gradually, imperceptibly – changing. Morphing from just defence. To an all- court player who can transition to offence, crank the FH, and become the more aggressive, offensive player everyone has been clamoring for. Andy has been changing. He’s already been doing what everyone has been bickering about… You’ve just got to look close to see it.
That is why I said at the beginning of this piece that if Roddick can stay healthy for 3 or 4 straight months we will see him be a lot more competitive then we have in years, and more aggressive offensively in getting there.
Fast Forward from the AO 11 beatdown, through about 4 months of on and off injuries to the US Open 2011. Roddick gets to the QF’s(Something I predicted in a match by match breakdown, that we can dig up if anyone wants to)
What happened to Roddick enroute to the 2011 US Open QF’s is a microcosm of the changes he’s making. He started the tourney playing Michael Russell and Jack Sock. And Roddick was getting bullied around the court. Roddick was the defender, the pusher, if you will. But Roddick, had almost NO match play under his belt…and he was playing his way into the tourney. He was playing his way into the summer. He’d hit so fewer balls then anyone in the Top 100 that year it wasn’t even funny.
But although Roddick road his serve, and defence through the first 3 rounds of the tourney he slowly became more aggressive. You first saw it against Julien Benneteau in R3, and it became a LOT more obvious against Ferrer in the Round of 16. The fact is if Roddick had player Ferrer in the first round of the Open in 11’ he would have lost 4,3 and 2. As it was, Roddick had a dream draw of Russell, Sock and Benneteau and he had the luxury of riding his serve and slice, dice defence, to work his way into the tourney. Slowly, getting a little more aggressive as the matches wore on.
Now Fast Forward to the AO 12’. Roddick draws Robin Haase and then his old foe Hewitt. Roddick is 4 sets up and 4 down before pulling the hammy near the beginning of the 2nd set against Hewitt. Roddick is a trooper and fought it out…but he was toast.
The Roddick that played those first 4 sets of the AO this year would have beaten 2011 Stan Wawrinka and would have embarrassed 2011 Australian Open version of himself.
The fact is though that Andy is breaking down. Getting injured, more and more. It happened to Hewitt and it is happening to Andy.
BUT, and it’s a big BUT, if Andy can stay healthy for several straight months you will see Andy become a lot more aggressive. It might be 1 step back and 2 steps forward like we saw with his loss in San Jose….but while no one seems to believe in Roddick anymore. I see what he’s doing. The transition he’s making.
And if Roddick can stay healthy. Big IF….he can be a big player. A danger to anyone outside the Top 4 and a guy that can work his way back into the Top 10
Laugh all you want.
…
I am a big Andy Roddick fan. As can be seen by my avatar. However, if you notice my signature, I don’t believe I am a homer.
There are some fans who are too negative saying Roddick will not get past the 2nd round of slams nowadays. Others pick him to win a slam(usually Wimbeldon or the US Open each year)
I believe firmly if Roddick can remain healthy for 3 or 4 straight months (Yes, maybe a tall order) that most fans, pundits, and critics will be surprised at how well Roddick plays and how he stacks up against everyone in the world outside of the Top 4.
Past:
Roddick burst onto the scene with fanfare, a serve, and the image of being the next great American Tennis player. The fact is Roddick was always quite average(sans the Serve that is). And while Andy is often excused for being in the Rafa and Roger era in his prime years, he actually broke onto the scene before either Federer or Nadal were reaching their peaks and after Agassi and Sampras had their best days behind them.
To be honest in Roddick’s first 2 or 3 relevant seasons from 2001-2004 the era of Tennis was quite weak. Moya, Hewitt, Ferrero, Nalbandian were the top of the game. And an okay Roddick, with a great serve was a Major Championship factor.
Ofcourse, I’m not sure we always know if we are in a weak or a strong era while it’s happening. And most saw the continual elevation of play, racquet and string technology, fitness-nutrition, etc., and probably didn’t think that what Andy was accomplishing early in his career was due, in part, to a lull at the top of the game.
The fact is you may not be able to fairly compare a 24 year old Federer with a 24 year old Laver. Too much has changed. But I think it’s a lot more realistic to compare a 21 yr old Hewitt with a 21 yr old Sampras, or Nadal, or Djokovic, etc. And the truth is Roddick was competing with what he was dealt, and what Andy was dealt at a young age was a mediocre field. A field where based on Roddick’s serve, aggression, confidence and determination he was a very real Slam Factor.
Do we really think that if Andy was the same age as Sampras coming up that he would have had any more success denting Pistol Pete’s slam totals then Agassi had? Probably not.
So while the emergence of Roger and then Rafa surely brought on a rare and difficult era, the beginning of Andy’s career was actually in the midst of a mediocre field.
Then the 2003 US Open validated Andy as a great young American Tennis player, and since at the time, I doubt the field was seen as weak as it is now, there was no reason to believe that Andy was nothing less then a future multi-slam winner with a decent chance of following in the footsteps of McEnroe,Sampras, Agassi, as the next great dominant US Champion. My contention is ofcourse two fold. The era was weak, and Roddick just wasn’t THAT good.
But he was the sexy, young, brash, American Jock. Who with a big serve, FH, and bulldog mentality had all the makings of the next big star.
So in comes Roger. He’s just too good. Probably the greatest of all time. Then in comes Nadal and this growing generation of all court tennis players. Roddick who had been projected and anointed as the next big star just wasn’t measuring up.
It was a slow decline ofcourse. Dropping from 1 to 2….to 3 and then 4….eventually dipping out of the Top 5.
Roddick had a few problems in the 2004-2009 era.
A. His game wasn’t evolving.
B. I think he was immature and needed to grow up. This led to several coaching changes
C. Fed/Nadal era did not help.
I think when Stefanki came in at the beginning of 2009 Roddick began to evolve. And their have been two phases.
Phase 1: Roddick loses the 15 pounds, gets quicker around the court and improves his defence. This needed to happen, and in and of itself was not a bad move. It was not a move that dealt with Roddick’s forehand, which had degenerated into a loopy, puff ball mess.
During Phase 1: Roddick saw some gains. He beat Nadal in a ATP 1000 Final, had the Epic SW19 final with Federer and continued his streak of being in the Top 10 and winning atleast one 500 or better tournament every year.(Memphis Last year)
The problem with Phase 1 is it should have come in about 2006 or 2007, not the beginning of 2009. Andy lost 2 or 3 good years there. Because while improving his defence, movement and fitness was a good thing and necessary, it was very incomplete on it’s own. And was only a positive stride if he used those gains as a base to then work on offence. And he wasn't getting any younger.
Because much like Agassi did, patrolling the baseline, directing traffic, and shortening points. Andy needed to get more aggressive as he aged, not less aggressive. That’s not to say losing 15 pounds, being in better shape and having better defence was mutually exclusive with also learning to play more aggressively.
Phase 2:
I think Phase 2 started after the Australian Open 2011 when was absolutely dismantled and embarrassed by Stan Wawrinka. He toyed with him. Hit billions of winners and just frankly, blew Roddick off the court. People had been saying for years that Andy needed to regain his powerful FH, and be more aggressive off the ground, on returns etc, etc.
Well I think the beginning of Roddick becoming more aggressive was after that 2011 Aussie Open, where Roddick himself admitted that he needed to do something to deal with these big hitters(paraphrase) And I know what you are thinking. “Huh? More aggressive!? What have you been watching? Where is their any evidence that Andy is being more aggressive?.”
Well I believe if you watch AR matches as closely as I do, you can see the evolution slowly taking shape.
There have been two problems with Andy becoming more aggressive though.
Firstly, he’s hardly been healthy long enough to implement his slow gradual increase in offense. Secondly, while I believe Andy is improving his offensive game I think he puts a preference on his fitness, cardio and physical base and only works secondarily on ANY hitting improvements he may have in mind. I think this is why it’s a shame that Roddick didn’t hook up with Stefanki in 2006 or 2007. IMO, he kinda wasted a few prime years there.
Now, one could argue that all of Roddick’s “track work” is putting undue stress and extra miles on the legs and Roddick needs to hit, hit, hit with new tactics and aggression in practice. Atleast this needs to be more of a priority then just the running hills in the hot Austin Sun routine. There is probably some truth to that.
What there is also truth to however is that Roddick is playing more aggressively. He just hasn’t been healthy long enough to fully implement it etc.
But it is slowly, gradually, imperceptibly – changing. Morphing from just defence. To an all- court player who can transition to offence, crank the FH, and become the more aggressive, offensive player everyone has been clamoring for. Andy has been changing. He’s already been doing what everyone has been bickering about… You’ve just got to look close to see it.
That is why I said at the beginning of this piece that if Roddick can stay healthy for 3 or 4 straight months we will see him be a lot more competitive then we have in years, and more aggressive offensively in getting there.
Fast Forward from the AO 11 beatdown, through about 4 months of on and off injuries to the US Open 2011. Roddick gets to the QF’s(Something I predicted in a match by match breakdown, that we can dig up if anyone wants to)
What happened to Roddick enroute to the 2011 US Open QF’s is a microcosm of the changes he’s making. He started the tourney playing Michael Russell and Jack Sock. And Roddick was getting bullied around the court. Roddick was the defender, the pusher, if you will. But Roddick, had almost NO match play under his belt…and he was playing his way into the tourney. He was playing his way into the summer. He’d hit so fewer balls then anyone in the Top 100 that year it wasn’t even funny.
But although Roddick road his serve, and defence through the first 3 rounds of the tourney he slowly became more aggressive. You first saw it against Julien Benneteau in R3, and it became a LOT more obvious against Ferrer in the Round of 16. The fact is if Roddick had player Ferrer in the first round of the Open in 11’ he would have lost 4,3 and 2. As it was, Roddick had a dream draw of Russell, Sock and Benneteau and he had the luxury of riding his serve and slice, dice defence, to work his way into the tourney. Slowly, getting a little more aggressive as the matches wore on.
Now Fast Forward to the AO 12’. Roddick draws Robin Haase and then his old foe Hewitt. Roddick is 4 sets up and 4 down before pulling the hammy near the beginning of the 2nd set against Hewitt. Roddick is a trooper and fought it out…but he was toast.
The Roddick that played those first 4 sets of the AO this year would have beaten 2011 Stan Wawrinka and would have embarrassed 2011 Australian Open version of himself.
The fact is though that Andy is breaking down. Getting injured, more and more. It happened to Hewitt and it is happening to Andy.
BUT, and it’s a big BUT, if Andy can stay healthy for several straight months you will see Andy become a lot more aggressive. It might be 1 step back and 2 steps forward like we saw with his loss in San Jose….but while no one seems to believe in Roddick anymore. I see what he’s doing. The transition he’s making.
And if Roddick can stay healthy. Big IF….he can be a big player. A danger to anyone outside the Top 4 and a guy that can work his way back into the Top 10
Laugh all you want.
