Roddick reverses form on the lawns
American coming on after less-than-impressive start at Wimbledon
COMMENTARY
By Bud Collins
NBC Sports
Updated: 8:48 p.m. ET June 25, 2005
To be honest, I thought Andy Roddick was finished at Wimbledon when he dropped the fourth set of his second-round match to feisty Italian Daniele Braccali.
But he gutted out a five-set win, and now it would be a major disappointment to A-Rod and his fans if he doesn't reach the final. With the exits of Tim Henman and Rafael Nadal the bottom half of the draw has opened up for Roddick.
Finding his game
After Roddick’s first-round match (a win over Jiri Vanek), I didn’t really feel like he was playing the type of tennis that would carry him very far here on the lawns of Wimbledon. But with three matches under his belt, I think he’s getting better and settling into the tournament.
In my estimation in his second-round win against Braccali, Roddick jumped a big hurdle, and I find that very encouraging.
If Roddick had lost that five-setter to Bracciali, it would have been the sixth consecutive five- set match that he dropped.
The win over Bracciali took 22-and-a-half hours to execute because darkness suspended the proceedings on Thursday night after Roddick, who won the first two sets, lost the third-set tiebreaker.
With that 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 4-6, 6-3 win, Roddick certainly has helped along his career five- set record, but it still isn’t up to snuff at 5-7.
Smart enough to adjust
What I liked most about Roddick in that match against Bracciali is the way he switched his game.
I don’t really understand it, but for some reason Roddick loves the baseline, which to me makes him a one-dimensional player. He’s a young guy, he’s tall, he has a huge serve and I would think he’d want to be throwing himself at the net.
But against Bracciali, which was a very difficult match, he figured out that he wasn’t going to beat the Italian Stallion from the back of the court, so he had to be daring and come on in.
That match showed me that Roddick can adapt to situations, which I think is crucial for any top player to be able to do.
In his third-round match on Saturday against Igor Andreev, he was playing the kind of guy he likes to play, a baseliner, albeit a baseliner who is not that good on grass.
Scoring the 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) win over the Russian, Roddick didn’t have to go to that other option as he likes to call it, and was able to hang out on the baseline as opposed to moving forward.
He might have gone in a couple of times, but he didn’t have to approach the net very often which I’m sure made him happy -- even if it’s not the strategy I’d prefer to see Roddick play.
Roddick's favorable draw
If Roddick could’ve arranged his half of the draw himself heading into the second week of Wimbledon, I think what he faces would be exactly what he would want.
Next up on his plate is the Argentine scamper, Guillermo Coria, who took five sets in the third round to send Jurgen Melzer back to Austria. It was an impressive win for Coria, but I don’t think he has the goods to challenge Roddick, certainly not on grass.
Roddick has won all four of their past encounters and has only dropped three sets in 11 played against Coria.
In the quarterfinals, I’m expecting Roddick to play No. 9 seed Sebastien Grosjean, who is capable of creating some nervous moments for the American.
While it’s true that Roddick holds an impressive 6-1 record over Grosjean in their previous outings, the Florida-based Frenchman is comfortable on the grass. Proof of that is that he’s reached the semifinals here the past two years and owns a 20-6 record at Wimbledon
The good news for Roddick is that en route to winning his third consecutive title at Queen’s Club earlier this month, he successful took out Grosjean in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Roddick would have to contend with one of four players: Max Mirnyi, Thomas Johansson, David Nalbandian or Richard Gasquet.
I think Nalbandian, who was a finalist here in 2002, could give Roddick the most problems, but I don’t imagine any of those four guys should be able to take him out of the tournament.
Needing to play on the final Sunday
If Roddick doesn’t make it to the final, I can say that I came in here questioning him and where he currently is with his game and I would leave with the same questions.
Certainly, the last time I felt that he played at the top of his game was here in the final against Roger Federer last year. He he'll have to break from a disappointing recent past if he's going to emerge a champion at the All-England Club this summer.
He needs to get back on track as he has fallen from No. 1 in the world to No. 4.
Roddick's the lone American eagle and I’m expecting to see in next Sunday’s final. There's no question his career can use that sort of a boost.
© 2005 MSNBC Interactive
Is his backhand doing some more damage now? Is the Andy that got back to the Wimbly final back or is he in even better form?
