Did Andy mock Coria's back pains during the match?

[backhander]

I didn't see the Roddick/Coria match but i know Coria retired because of back pains. I keep reading posts of Andy doing kind of a mock of Coria's back pains by grabbing his back and acting like he was in pain. Is that true?

Recently there are all these posts of anti-Roddick this and pro-Roddick that. But if he really did this, what do those who defend him defend this action?

He can be the greatese guy during an interview, (though it's pretty easy to do so when you just won the final match of a big tournament because the guy retired) but I still think the guy is a jerk on the courts.

I mean i don't like the guy because of things like this...I could care less about his tennis style, I mean the guy wins with it, so who cares right? It's his on court demeanor that drives me nuts. I can't wait and hope that he grows out of it....kind of like how Agassi did.

[PureCarlosMoyaDrive]

It was in the tie-break. Roddick hit a dropper, Coria sprinted it down, poked a forehand down the line for a winner to go up like 4-1 or something. I think Roddick (who was at net too) bent over and like rubbed his back staring at Coria (who was walking away), then pointed at him supposedly. I saw for sure the back rubbing, and I think it's pure jerk status, how do you defend that seriously?

[Camilio Pascual]

I don't think he was mocking Coria at all. It appears to me Andy thought Coria was faking it or exaggerating, especially since he did so well after the initial problem. Andy was wrong, Coria was not faking it.

[edge]

Of course he was mocking Coria because he thought Coria was faking it. Now he looks like a big time jerk because the injury was real and he appears to be an insensitive unsportsman-like idiot. But that's Andy. if he keeps winning, people will learn to like him just like they like Johnny Mac. For all his transgressions on the court, Mac is very popular the world around.

[VJH]

Initially after Coria started grabbing his back, he still seemed to move extremely well. I have to admit that I was struggling to think of the European player that allegedly cries wolf all the time......I didn't think it was Coria, but with the way he was moving, I considered the fact that he may have been playing possum.

[VJH]

I mean, he covered some court to get to that drop shot....Turns out I was wrong. I'm sure that Andy felt like an idiot (much like I did) when we were proven wrong.

[Feña14]

It's simply undefendable, The other guys have told you the story and I think Coria should of mocked Andy by going in his bag and getting out a reebok hat and pulling it down so that Coria's ears stick out just like Andy's

Liam

[PureCarlosMoyaDrive]

Camilio, so you are implying that he was mocking? I mean, you say Roddick was doing what he was doing because he thought Coria was faking. Sounds like mocking to me.....

[guernica1]

Although I did not watch this match I have heard that Coria had cramps in the HAmburg semi's against Gaudio and would limp around between points but be fresh as a daisy during the points. Then when the match was over (Gaudio lost) Coria limped up to the net weakly. Apparently Gaudio was not very pleased and words were exchanged.

Astennix might be able to shed light on this incident.

[sliceroni]

Yeah, Roddick was mocking him no doubt. During his injury time out while the trainer was massaging his back Roddick sprinted past them and yelled "C'mon I'm ready to go!" What a guy.

[tykrum]

I did see this during the match, and I don't think that Roddick was trying to 'mock' Coria. At the time in the match, Roddick was probably and understandably frustrated that he was losing in the breaker to this guy that only showed signs of hurting in between points and on the change-overs. Since he is an extrovert and does like to play to the crowd, especially an American one, in his way he was showing his displeasure what he erroneously thought was a back problem that Coria was exagerating. I don't remember seeing Roddick ever point and stare at Coria, actually from what I remember it was a very quick gesture. It was just something where he was caught up in the match and his frustration got the best of him. As we know this can happen to normal adults, and Roddick is the type of person that is prone to showing it due to his extrovertedness and age. I really think that his post match comments sum up the type of person that he is more than this gesture which he probably regretted soon after he made it.

[sliceroni]

Tykrum, it doesn't matter what he says in the post match interview and he can be as nice as he wants, what matters is how he acts towards the person across the net and the officials. Actions always speak louder than words. At least McEnroe admitted and even bragged sometimes about being jack***** in his post match interviews. That's why he was the true bad boy not a fake one. Being a an official, whether it be the chair ump or linesman is tough enough, during a Roddick match it's definitely a THANKLESS job, hell it's even more thankless when you're a towel or water boy when Andy plays. I feel sorry for those kids. TOWEL!!

[Cfidave]

No question he was mocking Coria. He was pissed that Coria could win that point, having just had an injury time out, with a bad back. Can not honestly say I would not have been pissed as well. However, I know I would not have dis-respected my opponent, as Roddick did. That is one of the reasons I just do not like this guy. He is basically a jerk. Yeah, I know, gives nice guy interviews after he has time to plan his demeanor. What you see in the heat of battle, with Roddick, is the real Andy.

[Lambro]

``It takes away some of the joy of winning a tournament when you know your opponent is hurt,'' Roddick said. ``But at the same time, I'm here at the end of the day. That was my goal coming into the tournament.''

[tykrum]

I don't think so sliceroni, what I think you see during the course of a match is someone that is so caught up in his emotions that he is really acting on impulse. He is quite the emotional player, and like I said before, I bet he regretted his move after he did it. It was a just a impulse based on his frustrations and I doubt he meant to disrespect Coria. From everything that I have ever seen from Roddick the person, meaning everything that he has done while not playing a match, has been gracious and concientious. While he is on the court he is a driven competitor and entertainer, and that may lead him to do things that he might normally not and he might regret if he thought it through beforehand.

[chad shaver]

Well, at least you guys have some new material to use when you complain about Roddick...

[Ballmachine]

You know, people have a very, very short memory. Over the years I have witnessed Andre Agassi fire a ball at the umpire and hit the chair, I have seen Andre blow his nose towards officials, I have seen Andre curse at his opponents, I have seen Andre mock his opponents, and worst of all, I have seen Andre tank a match when he just didn't feel like playing. Yet despite all of these things, he is loved the world over. I couldn't stand Andre for much of his career because of these things, but as he has gotten older he has matured and become extremely professional. I admire his work ethic and his impeccable technique on his forehand and backhand grounstrokes, but I don't particularly like his style of play. That's my prerogative as a fan. Now when I watch Andre play, I truly believe that he is trying to win every match that he's in, and for that he has gained my respect as a professional athlete.

Andy may do a few things that will not win him a sportsmanship award anytime soon, but at least he comes to win each and every match, at each and every tournament that he plays in, and he's only 21. That is all any of us as fans could ever ask for. We don't hang out with Andy Roddick at home. We don't see how he interacts with his friends and family. We don't know what those who are closest to him think of him as a person. We don't watch him play because of his character. We watch him because he plays tennis at the highest level possible, and because he does things on the court that the rest of us can only dream about.

In the heat of the battle, we all do things that we wouldn't do if our adrenalin wasn't pumping. Sometimes we all get caught in the moment when we are trying our absolute hardest to win a point, or a match. That doesn't mean that we are bad people, it means that we are human. Emotions do play a part of the game at times, especially if you really care about what you are doing and are trying your hardest to win.

Pete Sampras was a rare breed in that he could keep all of the emotions that he was feeling during a match inside. He never got too high or too low, and that helped him accomplish the things that he did in his career. McEnroe was never able to contain himself on or off the court, and in the long run he only hurt himself. Those closest to him, like his father, always told John that he would do a lot better and be more successful if he just concentrated on the ball and didn't let his emotions get the better of him. John was an underachiever because his talent should have produced more slams and more titles during his career. Pete has said that Federer is going to be a force on the tour for years to come because just like himself, he never gets too high or too low. Roddick is a different type of person. He needs to get pumped up every now and then. It hurt him early in his career like when he lost to Hewitt in 5 sets at the Open in 2001 after a bad line call, but lately it has spurred him on to victory on many occasions. Every person has to find their own motivation to perform at their best. I don't believe for one second that Andy is a bad person because he gets pumped up for a match. His post-match interviews display his true character, and he has been honest and humble in both victory and defeat. When Ivan Ljubicic had a problem with Andy and made some comments about him at the Open last year, Andy called him up to talk it over. How many people do you know that would have done that? You may not like Andy's particular style of play, but he is a grandslam champion with the potential and drive to do very well over the next 10 years in the sport of tennis. Give the guy a break if he loses his cool every now and then. We all have, and we aren't playing for titles, rankings, or money.

[david aames]

Gilbert at work here. Forget the hand gestures and tough looks...


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/05/sp...is/05TENN.html

New York Times, April 5 2004.
Playing Hurt, Coria Loses to Roddick

(...)

Coria said he thought his injury might have resulted from returning Roddick's serve so high, meaning that, because he is only 5 feet 9 inches, he was stretching with each return.

Immediately after Coria was hurt, Roddick spent a few games trying to figure out what shots Coria could still play.

"I was trying to feel out what shots he wasn't hitting well and maybe trying to make him play a little bit more, maybe aggravate it some more," Roddick said.

Coria stayed in rallies, though, before Roddick began to go for the kill. The crowd, which had begun the match singing songs in Spanish for Coria and waving Argentine flags, quieted as Coria's injury became apparent. In the first set, he won 23 of 33 service points. In the third, he won 9 of 21, while Roddick won 16 of 17 points on his serve. Coria finished with 34 unforced errors.

"I just said, `O.K., I'm just going to try to imagine that he's not hurt at all,' " Roddick said. "That started working a little bit better for me. I was trying to maybe bluff my way through because I knew he was hurt, too. But I'd much rather play through an upset stomach where you know it's just a temporary thing as opposed to an injury. So I guess I was definitely working with the lesser of two evils there."

[yee]

I'm glad I didn't see that on TV, it will have spoilt my plan of trying to like this brat knowing that I'm gonna have to live with his tennis for at least the next 5 years (yes I may not like him but I'm not delluded enough to think that Andy's not gonna be one of the top players in the near few years)

[Loud]

Wasn't it Roddick a year or two ago who might have had cramps in his legs and then he went on to run down a number of balls, hit a bunch of good shots and have some long rallys which he won? Man, that kid's a hypocrite!