If there were no rain delays.....a different result???

[BreakPoint]

I strongly feel that had there been no rain delays during the men's final, that Roddick would have won this match, perhaps even in straight sets. The way Roddick came out at the start firing on all cylinders playing no holds barred tennis was just incredible. Had he been able to keep up that level of play for a couple of more sets, he would be holding the champion's cup right now instead of Federer. I really think that those two rain delays caused Roddick to cool down and allowed the adreneline in his veins to drop off a bit, so that when he came back from them, he definitely lost some of the intensity that he had in the 1st set. Federer played well, as usual, in all 4 sets. I thought he even played very well in the 1st set but there was nothing he could have done to stop Roddick the way Roddick was playing in that 1st set. I mean groundstrokes at over 100mph? Come on, now!

[BreakPoint]

Federer just admitted to Bud Collins that the rain delays helped him win this match. He said he felt very lucky for the rain delays, as Roddick was playing too well before the rain delays.

[Phil]

As I said in another thread, BOTH players have to deal with the delays. The one who can get through it and maintain focus, will win it. Wimbledon is ALL about rain-how can anyone be surprised or thrown off by it by now? Saying that the rain delays helped Roger is like saying that the grass helped Roger-they're both an inevitable part of the tournament.

[VamosRafa]

Andy said the same thing, Phil -- both players have to deal with the rain delays.

Andy has benefitted from them in the past, and Roger may have benefitted this time.

We'll never know what would have happened without the rain, and I don't care. Roger deserved the win -- but in some ways Andy lost the match more than Roger won it. And that's what still surprises me. We saw a side to Andy that we haven't seen before.

[WilsonPSSurgeX]

i definitely feel like the the rain delay hurt roddick. He just wasnt playing his type of tennis after the rain

[AAAA]

Yup, Federer only won because of the rain delays.

[Nadal2]

Originally Posted by AAAA

Yup, Federer only won because of the rain delays.

Now that was a stupid thing to say. Roddick had the break in the third, but you had a feeling that Federer would raise his level of play anyways.
Another stupid thing to say is that "we're only having this discussion because Federer's backhand was off" and another stupid thing to say is "Roddick only won the US Open because of the rain and scheduling."
I wouldn't say that Roddick was close enough to the finish line to say this, either. He still had another set to go and he was still playing very good tennis. The rain did help Roger to focus, yes, but after that rain delay Roddick still played very well, Roger just played better.

[Ronaldo]

Luckily, there weren't as many rain delays as the Graf-Seles final from 1992.

[fjgarciap]

Originally Posted by VamosRafa

Andy said the same thing, Phil -- both players have to deal with the rain delays.

Andy has benefitted from them in the past, and Roger may have benefitted this time.

Totally agree.

Roger deserved the win -- but in some ways Andy lost the match more than Roger won it. And that's what still surprises me. We saw a side to Andy that we haven't seen before.

You mean, losing a match he had in his hands? If so, that happened because of the first: Fed could regroup on the delays and make a comeback.

Andy's ADHD unfortunately got in the way of his "Pete Sampras 2002 US Open Final" tennis before the Winby rains came. He was clearly taking it to Fed... Roger knew better, Andy couldn't keep that up. Roddick plays on pure Adrenalyne.... Especially in key matchups like this was. I'm not a Roddick fan, but I think he would have beaten Federer with no delays.

[mileslong]

wasnt there a thread here last week talking about the excuses people on here would make if roddick won? well look at the pathetic excuses now..

[BreakPoint]

Originally Posted by Phil

Saying that the rain delays helped Roger is like saying that the grass helped Roger-they're both an inevitable part of the tournament.

Yes, rain is part of the tournament, just like grass is. It was just a "what if..." statement that with the way Roddick was playing prior to the rain delay, he may have won that match if there were no rain delays. IT IS NOT MEANT TO BE ANY KIND OF EXCUSE FOR RODDICK LOSING. It is just speculation since we will never know for sure.

[SonicSpeed]

Who knows. But yea...Andy seems to play really really well in GS finals. He is mentally calm and focused and his adrenaline play is out of this world. JCF didn't have much of a chance at all last year at USO finals. And had Andy kept up his level of play in the 1st set, Roger would have probably been ousted too.

[big ted]

i agree . ferderr sure is lucky it rained out there

[david aames]

Without rain delays, Roddick might not have made it to the final in the first place. He benefited from match interruptions during his match against Ancic. Can't win everytime.

[VamosRafa]

David, I had to , because I read your comments and then I read Andy's interview. Here's how it starts out:

A. Roddick Interview
Sunday, July 4, 2004

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You were very gracious on court about the rain delay in the second set. It was crucial when you were 4‑2 up.

ANDY RODDICK: Third set.

Q. No, the second rain delay.

ANDY RODDICK: It's irrelevant. Go ahead.

Q. It was crucial to the outcome of the match.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, it was. You know, unlike yesterday, I mean, I felt like I had the momentum going both times we went off. But, you know, I can't complain because it might have gotten me out of trouble yesterday.

So, you know, it just happens like that sometimes. It's a little bit of a Catch‑22.

Here's the full interview:

http://on.starblvd.net/cgi-bin/bbsms....1.1.1.1.1.1.1

[Alley Cat]

If Federer wasn't so good....I'll bet Roddick would have won that match!

[Ariel]

Originally Posted by david aames

Without rain delays, Roddick might not have made it to the final in the first place.

Not really sure I agree with that, but Andy and Andre sure benefited from rain deays at the us open.

[BreakPoint]

Originally Posted by david aames

Without rain delays, Roddick might not have made it to the final in the first place. He benefited from match interruptions during his match against Ancic. Can't win everytime.

Not sure I agree. Roddick was rolling for the first set and a half against Ancic, then the rain delay until the next day. Ancic came back and promptly broke Roddick and won like the next four games in a row along with the 2nd set. I'd say the rain delay helped Ancic stay in the match and push it to four sets.

[Matt H.]

To me, the way i saw it was for the majority of the time, Roddick was dictating. Federer was up 4-0 in the second set, and Roddick broke him twice in a row to level the set. That was just incredible. Most people on this board are still gonna hate Roddick and say how bad he is, but he showed me that he can play with Federer.


Rain delays are a part of the game, but it was obvious that this time the rain delays hurt Roddick. Not trying to make excuses, but you could clearly see that Roddick was cruising. However, credit to Federer for making the adjustments in the locker room.

The 4th set is what cost Andy the championship.....having triple break point on Fed, and not able to close that game out. Then on Fed's next service game, he had more chances. He went for it though, crushing that forehand that was a couple of inches wide, otherwise who knows....it might have gone 5 sets.