Give the man his due!

[Ballmachine]

This board has seen more than it's fair share of Roddick bashing, but you have to give the man his props for his win against Marat Safin today. Andy was tough when he needed to be tough in the first set tiebreak, and he steam-rolled Safin in the second when he sensed that Marat had thrown in the white towel. I was impressed by his overall play, but especially his strategy and tactics. He obviously felt he could not beat Safin playing the way he did in Australia, so he made the necessary changes. Not many of the top players do that. Andy stood in closer on Safin's serves, and he was aggressive on Marat's second serves because they were so predictable. That's exactly what Roger did to Marat in Australia. He also ventured to the net many more times than he did in Australia, and he threw in some timely serve and volley plays. Again, I have to give him credit for trying something different and sticking to his game plan. It was great to watch.