Kalamazoo vs US Open

[arosen]

Jenkins got 4 games out of Roddick, and he actually looked OK for the fresh meat that he was. What was your impression, guys? J-Mac said that "they ain't got no serve like that in Kalamazoo" when Roddick punched 152 MPH on on one of his first serves right into Jenkins's body, and I felt sorry for the kid, it must have hurt a bunch. Also, I got the impression Roddick was not trying his hardest, just staying back, what do you think? Was it his game plan, to let the guy beat himself into oblivion?

[Matt H.]

you can tell that Roddick was holding back a bit in the rallies.

There was no doubt at any time that Roddick would not win that match, and the kid is only 17 years old....a kid. I give credit to Roddick for not humiliating Jenkins in front of his entire family, 20,000 fans, and the National TV audience....

It was nice to see Jenkins hit that 129mph serve out wide in the 3rd set though.

[VictorS.]

I've noticed roddick really seems to be in cruise control during the early rounds of tournaments. And you know, i dunno if i blame him. These 2 week grand slam tourneys are without a doubt grueling and difficult. Running out of gas is a very real possibility. If roddick can win matches playing at about 60-70 percent...why not?

[goober]

After watching jenkins I am not sure if he is going to be top 20 player. Maybe top 100-200. He is turning 18 in September and at the same stage it seems like all the other recent top 10 American players were way ahead of him- Aggasi, Chang, Courrier, Sampras, ect. I don't know what his plans are but he might be better off going to college for now rather than going on the pro tour.

[VamosRafa]

Yeah, that's true. But it was a great effort by Jenkins. As Andy said, it was his first ATP match ever, and he'll have that experience to draw upon.

Andy won't do that with Nadal, though. I asked him about that. And he said, in essence, Nadal is a different story.

But I don't think Rafa can beat Andy. It may be a bit more competitive, though.

[alan-n]

As mentioned before, he may be just a kid... but so many kids were way ahead of him at his age and development. Going against the hardest hitter in tennis is quite a challenge but seeing him in interviews didn't impress me in the least. He was more star struck and interested in the attention he was getting ("look I'm going to be a marketable figure on TV and popular with my friends"). He's 17 but still as mentioned, just like Chang, Aggasi, Courier, Sampras were once......... They have raised my expections on the quality of tennis and preparation for young men going pro.

For someone who is just new to Tennis maybe Jenkins would be an interesting figure, but for me....... I'll go back to watching Federer, Srichaphan, Roddick, Agassi and the likes.