Roddick needs Brad Gilbert

[vllockhart]

Before Andy Roddick teamed up with Brad Gilbert he was a young, talented kid with loads of potential. After he hired Gilbert, he was giving Federer all he could handle and winning a slam.

He made a huge mistake by canning the guy. Gilbert knows how to coach champions and Andy's game has been seriously missing the spark for almost two years.

Whether Andy was not willing to adhere to Gilbert's work ethic or he just disagreed with the tactics Gilbert was trying to instill in him, he flamed out with that decision. I don't see him pulling himself out of this rut without some serious help.

 

[MMkay5]

whose roddicks coach now

 

[West Coast Ace]

whose roddicks coach now

Dean Goldfine.

 

[federerhoogenbandfan]

I could be wrong but I believed Roddick had fired Gilbert because he didnt win a slam in 2004 and that dissapointment caused him to fire him. If that was the case it was a mistake, but one I doubt he can go back on now. He has to much pride to grovel and that is what he would have to do. I also have read he gets along well with Dean and enjoys working with him. He is still #3 in the World so he is not a bad player all of the sudden.

 

[West Coast Ace]

Maybe Goldfine tells Andy what he wants to hear "you're the BEST tennis player in the galaxy, buddy!" while Gilbert gives him the Truth "standing 20' behind the baseline, with a lame backhand and lamer return of serve, and too busy chasing skirts, you'll NEVER beat Fed or win another Slam!"

 

[hoosierbr]

That boat left the dock a long time ago.

Besides, why would BG want to coach Roddick again?

 

[BaseLineBash]

Listen, all we have to go on is Roddick with BG and then Roddick without BG. Just looking at those and seeing how opposite they are...he needs BG or someone with the same approach as BG. P Blank!

 

[BaseLineBash]

P.S, Just look at Agassi. BG was with him for 8 years and we know Andre likes things done on his terms alone yet he was made in '99 to go to the French even without the right preperation yet he won and one can thank BG for making him go. Some might say he's obnoxious or Tarantino like, but he gets in his guys heads and makes them believe.

 

[Rusedski Fan]

Dean Goldfine

I happen to like Dean Goldfine. I think he is the right guy for Roddick. Dean or Brad are not on the court with Andy.

Andy has to start getting it into his head regarding his weak return game. It is just never there. He gets beat by the top players because of it.

Anyone on this board really think that a professional coach like Goldfine has not pleaded with Andy to start taking the ball early and working to be more aggressive with his returns? I know Dean wants Andy to do this, but Andy is the one standing 20 feet behind the baseline every match, not Goldfine.

Andy should have entered Delray and worked through the qualies. He needs the work. Make a point to play the qualies on or around the baseline and see what happens. Work on it during match play against some of the lower ranked players.

Maybe Roddick is content being 3 or 4 in the world? I don't thinks so, but sometimes you have to fail to succeed. His return game is terrible. He may lose some matches trying to work on being on the baseline taking the ball early, but it might save his career against the likes of Federer and Nadal in the next few years.

The window in tennis is short, ask Pat Cash. You might as well go down fighting. His return game is the worst in the top 10. I see dark horizons for Andy if this part of his game continues. The young guns are coming. Monfils, Gasquet, Bagdadits, Joachim Johanson, and Andy Murray.

 

[The Pusher Terminator]

Brad has an awesome tennis mind and Andy really does need him badly. The problem, however is that from what I hear ...Gilbet is a pain in the neck. He just never ever shuts up. Agassi called Gilbert "motor mouth." Great coach but a very tough person to deal with on a daily basis.

 

[West Coast Ace]

Anyone on this board really think that a professional coach like Goldfine has not pleaded with Andy to start taking the ball early and working to be more aggressive with his returns?

Yes, that's exactly what I think. And you even bolstered my argument further down

...the window in tennis is short...

that goes for coaches too! Goldfine probably digs the limelight and knows the best way to make it last is to not rock the boat.

 

[DashaandSafin]

Use the search function:
Top of the page
There has been at least 5-10 threads on this subject.

My personal opinion (again)

Let Roddick do what he wants. Obviously he felt something was wrong if he fired Brad. If he wanted Brad back he would have asked and im guessing that Brad would happily come back becuase of the fame he recived.

 

[vllockhart]

Use the search function:
Top of the page
There has been at least 5-10 threads on this subject.

My personal opinion (again)

Let Roddick do what he wants. Obviously he felt something was wrong if he fired Brad. If he wanted Brad back he would have asked and im guessing that Brad would happily come back becuase of the fame he recived.

If you feel there have been so many threads on the subject, then why not just not respond to it? No one put a gun to your head.

 

[devila]

He's playing for his brother, who failed to succeed in tennis.
Roddick has perfume, AMEX ads and a need to go to charities and Playboy parties. Agassi gave him the idea of starting a charity foundation, and he can't work much with a talented coach while not participating at the event.

He believes he can lean on American tournament directors because he knew them for years. He failed to communicate with the Delray Beach td.

Brad couldn't chase the ball down on Houston clay court. Do you think he's underrated? He covered up his lack of skills by promoting himself as a great teacher. He only rode the coat tails of top 10 players. I don't see him coaching 100th ranked players.
He told Roddick to stand far back and serve 160 mph. He blamed Roddick for not playing clay tournaments, despite the fact that he couldn't coach and both agreed to skip tournaments.

Goldfine says he's afraid that Roddick would lose in the qualifying round and may lose confidence from that. Jerkoff.
His former student, Todd Martin, told ESPNEWS, "Roddick didn't play awful."
No wonder Martin failed to win a big title.

 

[Defcon]

I believe it was BG who came up with the tactic of standing 20ft behind to receive serve, and even further for the 2nd serve, because Roddick's ROS is so weak and that way he could at least get the ball into play, and supposedly 'get into the head' of the other guy. In 2003, when Roddick had his breakout season, Brad was asked why Andy didn't SV, and he replied 'why should he? he doesn't need to'. I don't think Brad was a great coach at all.

And the reason he was fired and Goldfine hired are very public - Brad didn't get along with Roddick or his team, was asking Andy to put in more effort, and basically wasn't being a yes-man. There was a whole series of articles about how Goldfine was being 'interviewed' by Roddick to make sure they would get along. I don't see him questioning or even pushing Roddick.

 

[devila]

Actually, BG wrote in his book about how helpful he was to Roddick. He couldn't care less about Roddick, frankly. He did say yes to jumping out of airplanes with him. Nonsense. He told Roddick to hit him hard on the shoulder. BG thought Roddick couldn't accept that he lost against Henman and that was supposed to be great advice. Many times, he advertised Agassi while constantly putting down Roddick.

 

[AJK1]

Gilbert was an ordinary player, and an ordinary coach. His book is even worse. Don't believe the hype. Whoever coaches Roddick won't make a difference, he is just not good enough. Federer didn't even have a coach for a while, and he still won a couple of slams.

 

[BaseLineBash]

AJK1, BG once held the number 4 ranking in singles and Andre won 5 of his 8 slams under the tutelage of BG. What the hell is your definition of "ordinary"?

 

[Rusedski Fan]

Amen Baseline!!!

Brad Gilbert sucks as a coach? I don't think Roddick or Agassi think that. Tatiana Golvin goes to Brad's house to work on her game. I read all his books. I thought one was tactical for playing and one was story based and inspirational.

Brad does talk alot. I sat next to players box in Cincy and he is a talker.

I also don't see many coaches out scouting like I saw when Brad coached Andy and Andre.

My point is simple. Roddick needs to be more aggresive with the return game. Not Gilbert, Goldfine, Bolleterri, Roach, Todd Martin, or any other coaching guru is going to change Roddick to move to the baseline and take it early. My suggestion is he works with Andre to learn a return from top to bottom. Strip him down and start over. His return is that bad.

No coaches, he needs to change it and I hope Andy will.

 

[FalconX]

I think it was a personality mismatch more than anything else. I think andy is a nice fellow. Gilbert on the other hand is the definition of the word *******. Some of the things they were doing when Gilbert was the coach I have a feeling didn't sit well with Andy. Remember that whole thing about eating at restraunts serving food from the next day's opponent country. Or all the gamesmanship that roddick got into. I think Agassi finally dumped him for the same reason.

 

[spirit]

Roddick should hire Tony Roach.

I remember reading somewhere that Gilbert is not really a hands on coach, not demanding at all. Mainly acts as a servant for his charge and as a buffer between him and the public. Tries to motivate him with bets like, if you win this one, I'll jump in the Yarra river (which he did when Agassi won, I believe). But he does talk a lot, from what I've heard and read.

 

[superman1]

I think it's a shame that Gilbert isn't coaching anyone. He's one of the greatest coaches a player could have. But I think he's very happy with his new job. I remember at one of the Slams years back (maybe US Open 2004) Gilbert was asked who he was gunning for. He said Roddick, since he was obligated to as his coach, but that his heart was still with Agassi to win. I don't think they had the same relationship as he had with Andre. But I also don't know if Gilbert is the right coach for Roddick. BG is more about mentally pumping up the player than on technical stuff. And he's obsessed with spin, which Roddick needs to learn to use less of now and then.

 

[Moose Malloy]

Some funny Sampras comments on Gilbert:

"Brad's got a good heart, but I couldn't take all that talking, discussing every angle, every shot," he says. "Whenever we used to practice together, I'd say, 'Brad, would you just shut the [expletive] up for 30 minutes.' "

I don't blame Andy, the guy seems unbelievably annoying.

 

[Steve Huff]

Brad Gilbert is the one that moved Roddick 10 feet BEHIND the baseline to receive serves so that he'd have more time. Now, all he talks about is how Roddick needs to diversify his game, come into the net more, etc. If he'd have coached Roddick that way when he was his coach, Roddick and he may still be together.

 

[devila]

I've read an article where Brad's wife called him "annoying".
Brad called himself insecure cause he didn't communicate with his dad. LoL

While his son played a match, Brad yapped some advice to him and the umpire kicked Brad out of the match.

 

[samster]

Look who is sorry now from the fallen relationship...Andy Roddick. I saw Roddick played WTT last summer and lost to some #50 player in the world (can't remember his name right now), which is pathetic. If anyone has a decent return of serve, he or she will have a good shot of beating Roddick. And if that anyone has a decent down the line backhand as well, he or she will beat Roddick.

 

[bamboo]

Around the web, Roddick's Delray Beach fiasco is referred to as a flakefest. Jon Wertheim of SI points out that he's lost a lot off his forehand and serve; the bloom is off the Roddick rose and little tourneys like San Jose are all he can hope to win now.

 

[samster]

I cannot wait for another Andy Roddick Mojo commercial...I bet American Express won't make that stupid mistake again. Don't get me wrong, I like Andy Roddick but his tennis game of late has been quite disappointing.

 

[devila]

Speak your mind. The fans at tennis boards hate listening to the truth.
It's a shame that he's more interested in making his acquaintances happy. That's it. He became more and more immature, and work ethics disintegrated.
He can only win masters events when he's almost 30 yrs. old.

 

[FalconX]

I was one of the original roddick haters...but you guys are taking this too far. He has not lost a lot off his serve or forehand. Look he just ran into a tough player.

IMO Roddick in his service games isn't setting himself up for the forehand. that's his 1-2 punch. He needs to be more agressive. Roddick will stay a top 10 for a long time. Don't get your hopes too high.

 

[devila]

The fact is his serve wasn't fast until at age 16, he changed it into an abbreviated motion. He didn't want to work on his return game. Men's tennis isn't about 1 or 2 cheap points anymore. It's about 10-40 shot rallies.
Roddick spends half the year at exhibitions like WTT.

 

[NoBadMojo]

Some guys can only reach a certain level and cant improve no matter what they do..l think Roddick topped out and is playing at the very best of his abilities, wheras others are getting beter and he is simply getting passed by..others are improving...Roddick is not. I think some people think a coach can do more for a player than they actually can..its one thing to tell a player to do something, but quite another for him to be able to do it

 

[devila]

On the other hand, Brad Gilbert had little talent, yet he had lucky winning streaks and an Olympic medal.

 

[Redflea]

Roddick's issues:

- Return game is weak, 'nuff said
- Forehand too spinny and doesn't penetrate through the court when he needs it to...needs to be able to flatten it out sometimes. This was exacerbated by the AO surface.
- Backhand...weak on the move or wide
- Net game...ranges from acceptable to tragic, and his transition game is probably worse
- Mental...seems to lack ability to raise his game when he needs to...lacks the extra gear champions need to win the big matches consistently
- Roger Federer, 'nuff said.

 

[rommil]

Some guys can only reach a certain level and cant improve no matter what they do..l think Roddick topped out and is playing at the very best of his abilities, wheras others are getting beter and he is simply getting passed by..others are improving...Roddick is not. I think some people think a coach can do more for a player than they actually can..its one thing to tell a player to do something, but quite another for him to be able to do it

My thoughts exactly. Also, Roddick knows this and it's not doing him any better with his confidence. I am not sure about his recent play with the slice approach shot and coming to net. It is not getting any better. It is a very unnatural play for Andy.

 

[jackcrawford]

I was one of the original roddick haters...but you guys are taking this too far. He has not lost a lot off his serve

http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/scores/stats/day11/1408ms.html
I respectfully disagree; check the stats - the top, and average speeds for first and second serves are all 10mph lower than in the US Open 2004 which uses the same radar technology. I am sure there is less spin on his second serve, too.

 

[vllockhart]

Some funny Sampras comments on Gilbert:

"Brad's got a good heart, but I couldn't take all that talking, discussing every angle, every shot," he says. "Whenever we used to practice together, I'd say, 'Brad, would you just shut the [expletive] up for 30 minutes.' "

I don't blame Andy, the guy seems unbelievably annoying.

This is too funny. My Mom does the same thing to me coaching me in bowling. She explains everything 29384723 times ad nauseum like I'm a slow 3 year old til I have to say "Mom, I get it."

But I told her she could just tell me something once at the moment and she got better. Andy should wear a shirt that says "1 TIME!!"

 

[Count Grishnackh]

Some guys can only reach a certain level and cant improve no matter what they do..l think Roddick topped out and is playing at the very best of his abilities, wheras others are getting beter and he is simply getting passed by..others are improving...Roddick is not. I think some people think a coach can do more for a player than they actually can..its one thing to tell a player to do something, but quite another for him to be able to do it

Best post about Roddick's problems. Everybody else seems to suggest coaching and other things but I can't see where else Andy can go from here? His backhand will never be like Safin's and his return game will never be like Agassi's. His movement won't be like Nadal's either. But those things I just mentioned are not what worries me about Andy's game the most, something's happened to the speed of his serve and forehand. Jon Wertheim said on yahoo sports, "I just wanna know where 10% of Andy's stick went?" He's not bringing the wood to the shed anymore. If this is true, he's losing arm speed or the explosiveness in his shots. The closest thing to this would be something like Pedro Martinez, he lost alot of his fastball which has made him decline over the years but he managed to use his other pitches to rely on and use the fastball as a surprise element. But he used variety in order to still make his fastball effective, just not as much as in his glory days. Does Andy have the variety?

 

[jgunnink]

I agree that Roddick is not just a quick fix away from winning another major.

As for Brad Gilbert's coaching, one need look no further than his annoying commentary at the AO to get an idea of what having him as a coach might be like. I really missed Johnnie Mac this year.

 

[troytennisbum]

Look who is sorry now from the fallen relationship...Andy Roddick. I saw Roddick played WTT last summer and lost to some #50 player in the world (can't remember his name right now), which is pathetic. If anyone has a decent return of serve, he or she will have a good shot of beating Roddick. And if that anyone has a decent down the line backhand as well, he or she will beat Roddick.

Oh brother, another jealous Roddick hater....

For one, any guy ranked in the top ten can be beaten by just about any guy ranked in the top 100 nowdays on any given day (with the exception of perhaps, Fed). Yes, the men's tour really IS that competitve. Bagdatis came out of nowhere to reach the finals in a Slam. And according to Federer, there are a lot of guys out there who could do the same thing.

Second, obviously Roddick didn't get beat by some chump, but rather by a guy who was outplaying everyone out there, second only to Federer.

Third, Roddick still has one of the biggest forehands in the game and he has the biggest serve in the game.

Fourth, Roddick is ranked number three in the world. There, enough said.

 

[devila]

Do you really believe that he's #3 because he's playing great? He lost at least 2500 points in 2 years. The gap between him and #4 is very little.
He impulsively lied to the media about doing great with a hard-working coach.

Nothing changed in his fitness, serve, forehand, volley and most importantly, backhand. Folks have said that he did very little in training and was not that interested in winning Masters titles and slams.

Roddick is not Coria, Ljubicic, Nalbandian or Davydenko.
Baghdatis is not a great player. He would be lucky to win 2 titles per year.

Roddick can keep dating teen girls and acting as if he has the Davis Cup to live for. It's a dead end street.

 

[opiate]

Roddick can keep dating teen girls and acting as if he has the Davis Cup to live for. It's a dead end street.

Maybe he can drill a hole and make his way from under the street to the other side of the road. He just needs someone who can provide him with the tools and the hard hat. It's going to be hard work, that road work. At least he'll have all them teen girls keeping him company in the middle of the night.

Did I just say that?

I mean, in the middle of said hard work.

 

[devila]

He'll be as fit as a pimp.
The ex-gf Mandy Moore will marry her new man around her 22nd birthday. Ironic! Her ex-bf was too young to marry her in 2004.
Brad Gilbert's so pimped, he's everywhere ---in books, the internet, radio...TV. :shock: