Advice for Andy Roddick!!! Go ahead, chip in!

[samster]

Needless to say, like many others at this forum, I was disappointed to watch Andy Roddick lose in the 1st round. My advice for him would be:

1) Focus on tennis rather than making stupid MOJO ads.
2) Get rid of his rubber wrist band during the match when he's losing.
3) Get rid of the hat for the night matches...why the hat, Andy?
4) Don't serve and volley when you can't serve and volley. You are not Stefan Edberg.
5) Time to get a new coach. Andy keeps saying he is a better player than he was couple years ago. Really?
6) You gotta return better. Johnny Mac kept saying he needed to cut off the Lefty's angle throughout the match and step closer to the baseline and to his left. I agree with Mac's assessment.

His 1st round loss at the USO should be a wake up call. :neutral:

 

[The tennis guy]

There is nothing new, it has been talked about again and again.

Here is my take, in order of importance.

0. Hit his forehand with authority
1. Improve his backhand
2. Improve his return
3. Move closer to baseline rather than 10 feet behind baseline
4. Learn when to come to the net
5. Improve his volley

He has been trying too hard in improving his volley, and serve and volley that the rest of his games suffered.

 

[mrgonzo]

1. Don't stand so far behind the baseline on the return of serve.
2. Get a better backhand.
3. Stop hitting so much topspin on the forehand.
4. Don't skip the volley lesson.
5. Get rid of or improve that stupid floating slice backhand.
6. Look in the mirror, do you see Patrick Rafter. (stop serving and volleying)

 

[gmorr001]

the #1 thing that he should work on is his backhand. It looks like crap! Everyone can tell that is the weakest part of his game, even the people in the stands. He needs to go back and focus on that. Oh ya, and get back Brad Gillbert, even if he has to get on his knees and beg.

 

[The tennis guy]

the #1 thing that he should work on is his backhand. It looks like crap! Everyone can tell that is the weakest part of his game, even the people in the stands. He needs to go back and focus on that.

I agree. However, it seems Roddick believes improving his volley is the most important. It might work against weaker opponents, or against top players occasionally, but against top players on a consistent basis, they'd rather draw him to the net. He is a baseliner as his natural instinct.

 

[monologuist]

...ditch the Babolat.

 

[ACE of Hearts]

I think it will really be hard to improve for this guy, people think its easier said then doned.I am still puzzled at how many players dont attack his backhand which Muller did all night!

 

[prostaff1]

Samster- great post! Only I was happy to watch him go down in flames!

 

[driger]

dudes, andy has played well this summer. he doesn't need to change his whole game.

but i'd say, "andy get a heart. and remember when you step on that court, it's war". "these are the kind of matches you have to dig down and find your will to win".

he just looked completely unprepared for muller.

 

[LafayetteHitter]

Easy to coach through the tv...

 

[The tennis guy]

dudes, andy has played well this summer. he doesn't need to change his whole game.

but i'd say, "andy get a heart. and remember when you step on that court, it's war". "these are the kind of matches you have to dig down and find your will to win".

he just looked completely unprepared for muller.

No one said he needs to change his game completely. He tried to change his game more drastically by coming to the net so much.

For a top hardcourt player like Roddick who lost to Ginepri, Mathieu, Muller this summer, he is not playing well.

 

[Defcon]

I don't agree with the advice to not serve and volley. Anybody with a serve like his should volley, otherwise the serve will just be floated back (as Fed, Henman etc regularly do) and the point starts in neutral.

People can learn to volley, he just needs to work on it.

Roddicks has very liitle court sense, instinct and feel for the game. He comes to net becuase thats what the coach ahs told him to do, so he will rush in on poor approach shots. Instead, he should spend some time studying the game, maybe watch old tapes, and understand when to come in.

He also needs to learn how to take away the court from the other guy - i.e. step closer, don't stand 20ft behind, learn how to construct points. Admittedly, he's been trying that all year and as a result his game is very different form the brash power baseline game he had in 2003. The fh has lost pace, he now tries to volley, but it all looks like a parody of a true all court game.

The coach can be squarely blamed for this. I have the impression that Gilbert was fired for being outspoken and not saying what Roddick wanted to hear, which is exactly what Goldfine seems to do. Roddick needs someone like Annacone, Newk or any other Aussie, someone who can teach him aspects of tennis beyond baseline bashing.

I hope he learns some lessons from this defeat and takes some steps to fix his game.

 

[KuramaIX]

Gain some weight back and get that awesome strength back to play his aggressive baseline game.

 

[The tennis guy]

I don't agree with the advice to not serve and volley. Anybody with a serve like his should volley, otherwise the serve will just be floated back (as Fed, Henman etc regularly do) and the point starts in neutral.

People can learn to volley, he just needs to work on it.

Roddicks has very liitle court sense, instinct and feel for the game. He comes to net becuase thats what the coach ahs told him to do, so he will rush in on poor approach shots. Instead, he should spend some time studying the game, maybe watch old tapes, and understand when to come in.

He also needs to learn how to take away the court from the other guy - i.e. step closer, don't stand 20ft behind, learn how to construct points. Admittedly, he's been trying that all year and as a result his game is very different form the brash power baseline game he had in 2003. The fh has lost pace, he now tries to volley, but it all looks like a parody of a true all court game.

The coach can be squarely blamed for this. I have the impression that Gilbert was fired for being outspoken and not saying what Roddick wanted to hear, which is exactly what Goldfine seems to do. Roddick needs someone like Annacone, Newk or any other Aussie, someone who can teach him aspects of tennis beyond baseline bashing.

I hope he learns some lessons from this defeat and takes some steps to fix his game.

The most difficult thing to teach is court sense, which is natural instinct that a good serve and volleyer needs. It's easier to improve his backhand, staying closer to baseline.

 

[VamosRafa]

I think it will really be hard to improve for this guy, people think its easier said then doned.I am still puzzled at how many players dont attack his backhand which Muller did all night!

Probably because it's easier for a left-hander like Muller to pick on the backhand of a right-handed player like Andy.

 

[The tennis guy]

Probably because it's easier for a left-hander like Muller to pick on the backhand of a right-handed player like Andy.

True. Plus Roddick was not hitting his forehand with authority, so it was easier for Muller to dictate during baseline rally. All match long, Muller could hit ground stroke where ever he wanted.

 

[alienhamster]

Main advice for Andy: get a hypnotist.

Seriously, it's mostly in his head. His backhand sucked majorly last night but it's been really solid in other big pressure matches this year. I think the serve and volley and (improved) slice backhand are good additions, and he should continue to sharpen those shots. But he needs to refocus his game around dictating with the big forehand as soon as he gets a chance in a rally (on these faster surfaces, at least).

I really don't know what Goldfine is doing with Andy, but whatever it is, it's not giving him confidence. Gilbert may not have been pushing Andy enough to improve his technique or to get in better shape, but he did make Andy believe that his strengths were good enough to beat anyone else in the world. Belief in your game is as important as the game itself--maybe more important.

The only technical thing that I'd like to see Roddick do is go to a "return of serve" specialist for a while. Just keep practicing that shot over and over, returning all sorts of serves. He could definitely strengthen that part of his game. It's more critical than the volley right now for sure.

 

[driger]

No one said he needs to change his game completely. He tried to change his game more drastically by coming to the net so much.

For a top hardcourt player like Roddick who lost to Ginepri, Mathieu, Muller this summer, he is not playing well.

tennis guy, did see who won the uso series? that guy last night was not the guy who sucked it up and beat ferrero, and hewitt a couple of weeks ago. and advice to improve this and improve that is silly. don't you think he has a coach thats already working with him to do all that?

 

[pstour90]

andy SHOULD continue wiht the S&V, because when he does, he wins the point a good amount of the time. However, when he hits an approach shot and comes in, he usually loses the pt. He needs to work on his approach and not force the issue. I have always been a roddick fan, but i didnt really mind seeing him lose because (imo) firing brad gilbert and going to a severely inferior coach was the stupidest thing he's ever done, so since he fired brad after a qf loss, hopefully fire dean after a 1rd loss, but probably not. ahh i'm just rambling in anger, sorry

 

[MegacedU]

Practice against lefties and L-O-B once in awhile.

 

[efice32]

andy should hire jim courier or john macenroe as his coach.

 

[snowpuppy]

I second Mac as a coach. His currently one is obviously not working but that is not the most important.

1) MOVE IN TO THE COURT. He is standing so far back at he is having a hard time reaching to the net to close off angles and the effectiveness of his forehand is reduce. Learn to hit on the rise.
2) He can use all the racket speed for something other than flat serves. He should be able to generate near sampras like spins there for allowing him to throw topspin/twist/slice serves instead of just big bombs and mix up placement. You don't see pitchers in baseball throwing only heaters. They would get chewed even the power pitchers.
3) yea, get a new coach.
4) Realize that his forehand is his bread and butter. Volleying is nice but you are not born to do it! You don't see Agassi changing to S&V after getting beaten by Sampras. Use that decent slice to set up some forehands.
5) er.... one handed backhand?

 

[newnuse]

1. Hire queer guys to do image makeover
2. Wear collar shirt with collar up
3. Go back to cool looking visor
4. Hire tough looking buff guys to surround opposing player's box during matches
5. Polish teeth to blind opponents with million dollar smile

Ahhhh... forget it. I'm starting to think it is impossible for him. I thought if he improved his net game and did the S&V game, he would do well. I'm starting to think he just does not have it mentally. I don't know if brain transplants are possible yet.

 

[TnTBigman]

rehire Brad Gilbert.

 

[TheSneakerologist]

Seriously it is easy to coach from the tv. All these people coming with their advice. Please stop all your clothing suggestions. It's stupid for you people to care for it so much like your on his @#@%. I don't like roddick but i also dont like people who criticize and dont kno ish.

 

[Cfidave]

Needs to return better, a lot better. He is one of the worst returners in the game. If you can't make effective returns, the best you are going to do is a tie breaker. So to do that,
he needs to stand in closer and take the ball early, something he can not do at this time.
If you look at the other top players, they all have effective return games. The return of serve is the key for Roddick to really improve his game.

 

[DashaandSafin]

*Yawn* we already had another thread on this.

 

[tennisToad]

Hit the opponent with your serve and knock him out!!! Win by TKO


/wait the new atp rules will allow him a standing 8 count..dam nevermind

 

[Indy Tennis]

Get more consistent from the baseline

First off let's acknowledge that Muller had one of those magic nights.

That being said, it seemed that Roddick used to be more consistent from the baseline. I think he's been working a lot on volleys and lost a little feel from the back court. His volley is hopeless. It's too late for him to become a good volley player so he should go back and find that awesome inside-out forehand he used to kill people with.

In sum, Andy should hang up trying to become an all-court player and get back to being a crushing baseliner.

 

[tennisToad]

get rid of the whimpy izod aligator french touchy feely clothes.. no one is scared of a player wearing izod!!

 

[The tennis guy]

don't you think he has a coach thats already working with him to do all that?

It didn't seem work.

 

[laurie]

You Americans are so funny. I love these comments.
On a more serious note. Does anyone here play tennis? Just think of this. You hit what you think is a good forehand approach down the line or crosscourt and rush the net, only to find you get beaten as you try to come to the net but only reach midcourt and the ball flies past you. You tell yourself, you must attack a short ball, come in and cover the angles.

I'm amazed that a professional player like Roddick stands so far behind the baseline when playing. This is what happens:

You are so far behind the baseline, you hit a lot of short midcourt balls, meaning you are vulnerable to been attacked.

You cannot attack from a deep position, you have to attack short midcourt balls. However, if you are so far behind the baseline, thats going to be difficult, and a lot of physical energy is been wasted.

Does Roddick really need to be that far back to pick up the flight of the ball? If thats the case I'm amazed. Good aggressive players don't do that, thats the game of a retriever.

Not only that but as tennis guy says and I pointed out a couple of weeks ago, been a good volleyer is down to instinct, Roddick is not good at covering the angles or covering the line, like a good goalkeeper. Add to that coming to the net is been aggresive, whilst playing so far the baseline is been a bit cowardly.

All this adds up to one thing. Roddick's game is a mess and full of contradictions. I wish him and his coach good luck in trying to unravel all of this and have a coherent game plan.

 

[bebots]

whimpy izod aligator french touchy feely

Nice phrase, that should be the name of the next Chili Peppers album, with a couple of spelling corrections.

I know he's from Luxembourg but his first name is Gilles, which is French, and the 22 year old Gilles just gave the 23 year old Andy a lesson in strategy. One does not live by the big fat stupid serve alone.

It seems like there was no strategy and purpose in Andy's ground game beyond the serve. Did he or coach do any scouting on Gilles and how he plays?

 

[MegacedU]

Lacoste is no longer Izod and the logo is a Crocodile. Just an FYI.

 

[The tennis guy]

All this adds up to one thing. Roddick's game is a mess and full of contradictions. I wish him and his coach good luck in trying to unravel all of this and have a coherent game plan.

Well said, exactly I have been saying. This is exactly how Roddick has been playing this year, on one hand being aggressive coming to net but not good yet, on the other hand staying 20 feet behind baseline. Strange and awkard regardless what he says he is a better player. Maybe he is, but he is not showing it.