Roddick on the radio in NY this morning.

[dman72]

Did anyone hear him on WFAN/Boomer and Carton?

I didn't get to listen to the whole interview, but basically he said that his time had come and that his serve had slowed due to his shoulder wearing down. I didn't realize he was dealing with a shoulder issue for awhile.

[Sid_Vicious]

I think Roddick really messed up his shoulder. I was watching his exhibition match with Raonic a few months ago and Roddick did not attempt a single 1st serve. He just hit 80-100 mph slices or kicks. Raonic was having fun with the speed gun, he served up a few 140+ bombs...It was weird to see Roddick pretend that he was not a big server himself.

[wy2sl0]

2010 Australian Open was the beginning of the end, during the Cilic match he lost in 5. He was in pain, called the trainer, and he continued to play through it. It was more than likely some impingement of some sort and he just kept going for it - almost won!

[President]

Originally Posted by Sid_Vicious

I think Roddick really messed up his shoulder. I was watching his exhibition match with Raonic a few months ago and Roddick did not attempt a single 1st serve. He just hit 80-100 mph slices or kicks. Raonic was having fun with the speed gun, he served up a few 140+ bombs...It was weird to see Roddick pretend that he was not a big server himself.

Yeah his serve was basically gone after Miami 2010. Up until that point he was actually leading the ATP points race that year, having done well at the AO, becoming the finalist at IW, and winning Miami. After that, he just had dismal results the rest of 2010 and the remainder of his career.

[BeHappy]

Originally Posted by President

Yeah his serve was basically gone after Miami 2010. Up until that point he was actually leading the ATP points race that year, having done well at the AO, becoming the finalist at IW, and winning Miami. After that, he just had dismal results the rest of 2010 and the remainder of his career.

Puts into perspective Sampras winning Wimbledon in 1993 with an injured shoulder and unable to serve more than 110mph. Not derailing the thread it's just that the serve is such an incredibly important part of the game.

With Roddick the hamstring exacerbated it because not only did his shoulder prevent him from attacking, the hamstring meant he couldn't defend.

[Moose Malloy]

Puts into perspective Sampras winning Wimbledon in 1993 with an injured shoulder and unable to serve more than 110mph.

His highest recorded serve in the '93 W final was 123. average 1st serve was 110.

[Netspirit]

Originally Posted by President

Yeah his serve was basically gone after Miami 2010. Up until that point he was actually leading the ATP points race that year, having done well at the AO, becoming the finalist at IW, and winning Miami. After that, he just had dismal results the rest of 2010 and the remainder of his career.

He can always say that he won his last encounter with his arch rival - Federer.

[Sid_Vicious]

Originally Posted by President

Yeah his serve was basically gone after Miami 2010. Up until that point he was actually leading the ATP points race that year, having done well at the AO, becoming the finalist at IW, and winning Miami. After that, he just had dismal results the rest of 2010 and the remainder of his career.

Yeah, I agree. Although I think the shoulder issue must have gotten really bad recently. I remember Roddick serving huge against Nadal at the WTF in 2010. In one game, he crushed three consecutive aces at 142 mph, 141 mph, and 140 mph. He played so well against Nadal and then essentially tanked to Berdych and Djokovic in the remaining Round Robin matches. It was bizarre to see, but I think it was a sign that Roddick was losing ambition big time.

You think Roddick's drop in serve speed was due to his shoulder degenerating? I remember a Roddick tutorial video where he shared tips about serving. They asked him what's the secret to serving 150 mph and Roddick responded "Well, It helps to be 21 again" and then Roddick said some BS about how his serve was better now because he took off the pace and increased his 1st %. I think the reality was that he was physically incapable of serving as big as he did in 2002-2005.

[President]

Originally Posted by Sid_Vicious

Yeah, I agree. Although I think the shoulder issue must have gotten really bad recently. I remember Roddick serving huge against Nadal at the WTF in 2010. In one game, he crushed three consecutive aces at 142 mph, 141 mph, and 140 mph. He played so well against Nadal and then essentially tanked to Berdych and Djokovic in the remaining Round Robin matches. It was bizarre to see, but I think it was a sign that Roddick was losing ambition big time.

You think Roddick's drop in serve speed was due to his shoulder degenerating? I remember a Roddick tutorial video where he shared tips about serving. They asked him what's the secret to serving 150 mph and Roddick responded "Well, It helps to be 21 again" and then Roddick said some BS about how his serve was better now because he took off the pace and increased his 1st %. I think the reality was that he was physically incapable of serving as big as he did in 2002-2005.

You are right, he could still occasionally bring the heat on the serve but it wasn't the same consistent weapon that it was before. I also think he lost some motivation when the big 4 really took hold of the sport and he realized he really had no chance in hell of winning another major. That beatdown by Nadal at the USO 2011 still stands out to me, made me realize that Roddick had NO future at the top of the sport.

Let's face it, Andy was never a very talented ball striker nor could he move at even close to the level required to play his preferred game (grinding). Without the serve he was rendered a very mediocre player.

[Anaconda]

Originally Posted by President

You are right, he could still occasionally bring the heat on the serve but it wasn't the same consistent weapon that it was before. I also think he lost some motivation when the big 4 really took hold of the sport and he realized he really had no chance in hell of winning another major. That beatdown by Nadal at the USO 2011 still stands out to me, made me realize that Roddick had NO future at the top of the sport.

Let's face it, Andy was never a very talented ball striker nor could he move at even close to the level required to play his preferred game (grinding). Without the serve he was rendered a very mediocre player.

You're kidding? Mediocre? You do realise the guy had a forehand that rivalled Federer's and Nadal's, I've seen matches where he's openly hit forehand winner after forehand winner, against these two guys as well. Sure, he's not a Federer or Safin when it comes to raw talent, but to say mediocre player without his serve is pretty lame; His BH was actually hs best groundstroke by default snce 2006, although he had matches with his FH where he would go for the kill, his volleys are good (approaches aren't though), his movement was actually very good.





My opinion is that Roddick's grinding game hurt his shoulder; Negative effects on the body because of serving don't happen 10 years later (especially since Roddick refined his service motion in 2005). His match against Cilic I think was the final blow (although until the clay season he was great). He injured his shoulder because of his grinding style and couldn't even serve at WTA pace.

[West Coast Ace]

He did a good job of keeping the shoulder issue quiet. One of the announcers during his run at the USO said he went from stringing his rackets in the 60's down to the upper 40's.

He probably realized he could get it fixed - but it would be a year off - not worth it. He's got all the money he needs and other ventures to pursue.

[gavna]

Roddick is at the Super Bowl and was doing Radio Row this morning......did the Houston, Dallas, Austin, L.A., NYC, Miami....etc sports stations (he was there pushing SAP and they sponsored his trip, and game tickets of course!).

He also talked about the arm issues and his radio gig on he weekends with Bones on FoxSports - He did also make a great point about how physical the game is now and he just couldn't compete and he was not going to be happy at 15 or 20 in the world.

[MaxT]

Originally Posted by Netspirit

He can always say that he won his last encounter with his arch rival - Federer.

At the end of the day, he wasn't much of a rival, least arch rival.

[MaxT]

Roddick's server is jerky, I find it amazing he was doing it so well, and never really hurt himself.

There are some smooth servers, Roddick is not one of them. Pete, Fed, Stich.

[Anaconda]

Originally Posted by MaxT

Roddick's server is jerky, I find it amazing he was doing it so well, and never really hurt himself.

There are some smooth servers, Roddick is not one of them. Pete, Fed, Stich.

Bio-mechanically Roddick's serve is fine, people just think because it's abbreviated and looks ugly, it's not optimal to use. The reason Sampras had such a fluid motion was due to his stance, I would love to see anyone use a narrow stance and an abbreviated motion - get the service results as Roddick whilst making the service motion look effortless like Sampras.



As I've already said, I don't think Roddick's serve had anything to do with his shoulder problems, I think it was to do with his ultra defensive game outside his serve.





If Roddick would have had injuries, it would have been 2004 or before - when his serve motion was slightly faster (although I doubt it would have a big effect on the body if there are no problems in the chain itself). Could anyone here actually contribute to this thread by trying to explain why Roddick refined his service motion?

[TTMR]

Originally Posted by gavna

Roddick is at the Super Bowl and was doing Radio Row this morning......did the Houston, Dallas, Austin, L.A., NYC, Miami....etc sports stations (he was there pushing SAP and they sponsored his trip, and game tickets of course!).

He also talked about the arm issues and his radio gig on he weekends with Bones on FoxSports - He did also make a great point about how physical the game is now and he just couldn't compete and he was not going to be happy at 15 or 20 in the world.

Maybe he should have hired a dietician and cut out the overeating.

[Sid_Vicious]

Originally Posted by TTMR

Maybe he should have hired a dietician and cut out the overeating.

What are you talking about? This is not Nalbandian we are talking about. Roddick never had an issue with overeating and always looked fit. Before 2011-2012, Roddick had extremely good endurance; he handled tough conditions (extreme heat, humidity) very well. A testament to this was his early round performances at the 2009 AO, where he was seemingly unfazed by the 40-43 degree C heat.

[TTMR]

Originally Posted by Sid_Vicious

What are you talking about? This is not Nalbandian we are talking about. Roddick never had an issue with overeating and always looked fit. Before 2011-2012, Roddick had extremely good endurance; he handled tough conditions (extreme heat, humidity) very well. A testament to this was his early round performances at the 2009 AO, where he was seemingly unfazed by the 40-43 degree C heat.

I'm relaying devila's observations from beyond the talk tennis grave.

[droliver]

His serve absolutely would break down his shoulder over time. His motion was novel and is incredibly explosive, which is why it was much harder then former serves seen on tour when he arrived. The shoulder is not engineered to serve 150 mph or throw a baseball 100 mph, irrespective of how good your form is. You get repetitive strain of the cuff and deceleration injuries that accumulate over time, it's inevitable.

Quite honestly, when I saw him at 19 play I thought it would be his back that went first.

[Sid_Vicious]

Originally Posted by TTMR

I'm relaying devila's observations from beyond the talk tennis grave.

LOL! Fantastic job!