ESPN's article on Why Roddick Sucks!

[RoddickistheMan]

Well we here t the baords have figured it out finally the masses are starting to see why roddick sucks as well. Great article check it out.


http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=3221740

 

[don_nguyen11490]

I find it ironic how you created this thread and yet your username is "RoddickistheMan."


Great article though.

 

[logansc]

This has been beat to death, hit the mess out of the ball and make everyone else move...otherwise Roddick has no chance to win against quality opponents.

 

[MichaelH]

This has been beat to death, hit the mess out of the ball and make everyone else move...otherwise Roddick has no chance to win against quality opponents.

Lotta truth in that. I feel a bit sorry for his coach, Jimmy...there's no way that Roddick can really compete because he still isn't much over 15 mentally.

 

[matchmaker]

I find it ironic how you created this thread and yet your username is "RoddickistheMan."


Great article though.

I agree, change that username.

The article is interesting BTW.

 

[quest01]

Roddicks forehand must improve if he plans in going deep into grand slams.

 

[quest01]

Roddicks forehand must improve if he plans on going deep into grand slams.

oops accidental double post.

 

[BeHappy]

I think connors is a terrible coach, he has no idea how to hit the ball and the tactics he's giving roddick are really hurting his game.

I know he doesn't know how to hit the ball because I read an instructional book he wrote in the 70's.

 

[PROTENNIS63]

That article actual has some interesting information. Roddick staying back will keep from beating the top guys.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

I think connors is a terrible coach, he has no idea how to hit the ball and the tactics he's giving roddick are really hurting his game.

I know he doesn't know how to hit the ball because I read an instructional book he wrote in the 70's.

JC didn't' know how to hit the ball!!! You can't really compare strokes of 30 yrs ago to modern strokes. Racket technology & stroke mechanics have changed radically in that time.

It is true, that Jimmy had the worst serve in the men's game. However, he was #1 for quite a while and was a serious threat for some 2 decades despite that serve. He was still still going deep in some big tournaments at the age of 42 (in the mid 90's). He was one of the best serve receivers of all time. Can't say that he didn't 't know how to hit the ball.

Probably a moot point anyway since it is doubtful that he is coaching Andy very much, if at all, on stroke mechanics anyway. I'm sure he was hired more for the mental aspects of the game -- strategy, mental toughness, etc.

 

[CGMemphis]

Johnny is an egomaniac, cocky jerk.

Roddick is an egomaniac, cocky jerk.

Dont blend so well.

 

[BeHappy]

JC didn't' know how to hit the ball!!! You can't really compare strokes of 30 yrs ago to modern strokes. Racket technology & stroke mechanics have changed radically in that time.

It is true, that Jimmy had the worst serve in the men's game. However, he was #1 for quite a while and was a serious threat for some 2 decades despite that serve. He was still still going deep in some big tournaments at the age of 42 (in the mid 90's). He was one of the best serve receivers of all time. Can't say that he didn't 't know how to hit the ball.

Probably a moot point anyway since it is doubtful that he is coaching Andy very much, if at all, on stroke mechanics anyway. I'm sure he was hired more for the mental aspects of the game -- strategy, mental toughness, etc.

Sorry, I phrased that badly, Connors had no idea HOW he went about hitting the ball.The technique Connors used was beyond ay superlative I can come up with.He has no idea how to fix Roddick's faulty mechanics.Roddick hits all his strokes with terrible technique, or lapsed technique might be a better way of putting it actually.He doesn't hit through the ball, and we all know that if there was one thing Jimmy could do it was hit through the ball.

In phase one of his coaching of Roddick, Connors gave him exactly the same tactics that he used, namely, get to net behind your groundstrokes, this worked quite well for Roddick but it was still a gameplan that relied on his weaknesses to finish off points.

In phase two of his coaching he's basically telling Roddick to push the ball back to the middle of the court.

So his technical coaching is non existant and his strategy coacing is, obviously to everyone, bad.So Connors is a terrible coach.

Roddick doesn't lack conviction, courage or mental fortitude, Connors is contributing nothing there.Roddick needs to realize that he only has one career, he'll only get one shot at this, so he needs to do what all the great champions have done and behave utterly selfishly, like Federer and Sampras before him.


What would Jimmy Connors have done?
He'd have fired his coach, he wouldn't have given a rats ass about his coaches feelings or what other people thought of him.

 

[Richie Rich]

article is right. roddick was at his best when he hit the cover off the ball. and please, god, get rid of that cross court backhand approach

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

I noticed that the article pointed out that Andy may need more serve variety. It also states that Roger F often says that he can read Andy's serve. Roger may do better against Andy's serve than other players, but the stats tell us that Andy has got one of the most effective first serves in the game.

In the past year, his1st serve % has been 71% with Andy winning an astonishing 81% of those points. Don't believe that anyone else in the top 20 comes close to that. Perhaps it's really the variety in his 2nd serve that needs improvement (as well as his returning game).

Sorry, I phrased that badly, Connors had no idea HOW he went about hitting the ball.The technique Connors used was beyond ay superlative I can come up with.He has no idea how to fix Roddick's faulty mechanics.Roddick hits all his strokes with terrible technique, or lapsed technique might be a better way of putting it actually...

This might be closer to the truth. I don't really know how effective Jimmy can be as a coach. A large part of the problem could be Andy's reluctance to change his own mechanics. He seems to really enjoy playing a very athletic style of game -- this might be getting in the way of adding more dimensions to his game to make it more effective.

 

[M J]

I agree that he should NOT mess with the serve. Just take some risks with the forehand.

 

[P-Town Tennis]

Johnny is an egomaniac, cocky jerk.

Roddick is an egomaniac, cocky jerk.

Dont blend so well.

What's Mcenroe have to do with this?

 

[fe6250]

I always thought that Rodick tried to take to big a swing on return of serve and never really developed as a solid returner. Too much reliance on his own serve and not enough to get some breaks. Maybe I'm wet here.

 

[FEDEXP]

Roddick is a "guys guy"? Not this guy; I really enjoy watching his matches when he's taken out by a young challenger...these are very enjoyable, and it's a long list at this point.