Hewitt vs. Roddick, who was a better player?

[NatF]

I mean the sudden injury to explain a bad loss. Yes it's actually a thing that happens but with the recent trend you feel like rolling the eyes at every instance, past and present.

Might be a thing though? Roddickulous1 seems a legit fan of Arod.

 

[Roddickulous1]

Didn't know Arod was injured coming into that TMC SF, he played some of his best tennis in the RR stages so the subpar play in the SF always puzzled me.

Roddick had a "minor leg injury" based on the source below.

And in the semifinals of the Tennis Masters Cup in November, Hewitt came close to humiliating Roddick as he won the last 20 points of their match. But Roddick was carrying a minor leg injury that day, and he should have fresher legs than .....

Hewitt Reaches the Semifinals to Make His Country Proud (Published 2005)

Lleyton Hewitt defeats David Nalbandian to advance to semifinals of Australian Open; photo (M)B

www.nytimes.com

Also, I do agree Roddick played well in the RR but its worth noting he was working on his transition and net game in that tournament (see quote and link below) which is something Hewitt could exploit much better than anyone he faced in the RR. I do think his execution of his approaches and volleys was better in the RR than the semi tho. Towards the end of that match, I think Roddick kinda melted down. Hewitt did play great as well to his credit, he was pretty fired up and I think took that match personally.

Roddick went into that matchup determined to volley more than he usually does — but that didn't quite pan out. Hewitt, like Roddick a former year-end No. 1 and U.S. Open champion, improved to 4-1 against the American.

"I just stoned them," Roddick said of his volley efforts. "I've been hitting them great all week, you know, better than I have. And today, that's about as bad as I've volleyed. It was just bad. I have to be kind of proud a little bit that I committed to doing it this week."

- Deseret

Roddick tries new tactics in battle to beat Federer

Andy Roddick, the world No 2, was not joking when he said that in order to have a rivalry with Roger Federer, the world No 1, he would need to win some of their matches. Federer has prevailed in eight of their nine meetings to date.

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Roddickulous1]

I mean the sudden injury to explain a bad loss. Yes it's actually a thing that happens but with the recent trend you feel like rolling the eyes at every instance, past and present.

Yeah man, I definitely pulled the injury out of thin air. Not like it was reported or anything. Just did it to make my fav player look good.

And the main point was to add context to the H2H really. As long as we're pointing out instances where Hewitt wasn't playing his best tennis or was past his prime, etc. Let's do the same for Roddick no?

 

[AnOctorokForDinner]

Yeah man, I definitely pulled the injury out of thin air. Not like it was reported or anything. Just did it to make my fav player look good.

And the main point was to add context to the H2H really. As long as we're pointing out instances where Hewitt wasn't playing his best tennis or was past his prime, etc. Let's do the same for Roddick no?

No, I mean the Nadal trend of exaggerating his physical woes, hence I'm apt to mistrust player reports. Anyway I don't think it's a match that needs excuses, considering Roddick's lack of success at the YEC (3 semis in 5 healthy tries - all lost in routine straight sets) vs Hewitt's excellent performance despite fewer runs (2 titles, 1 final in 4 tries).

 

[Roddickulous1]

No, I mean the Nadal trend of exaggerating his physical woes, hence I'm apt to mistrust player reports. Anyway I don't think it's a match that needs excuses, considering Roddick's lack of success at the YEC (3 semis in 5 healthy tries - all lost in routine straight sets) vs Hewitt's excellent performance despite fewer runs (2 titles, 1 final in 4 tries).

OK. I thought you were calling me a liar initially so didn't appreciate that too much.

Yeah, Roddick wasn't too hot at the YEC. He wasn't particularly good indoors. I think indoors strengthen a player's serve due to the lack of elements so Roddick's shoddy returning could be amplified further making it harder for him to break. I also think indoor tends to reward players who play more aggressive; can take the ball early / on the rise which Roddick couldn't really do. 03/04 were held outdoor but the former had peak Fed and latter has been discussed ITT.

 

[AnOctorokForDinner]

OK. I thought you were calling me a liar initially so didn't appreciate that too much.

Yeah, Roddick wasn't too hot at the YEC. He wasn't particularly good indoors. I think indoors strengthen a player's serve due to the lack of elements so Roddick's shoddy returning could be amplified further making it harder for him to break. I also think indoor tends to reward players who play more aggressive; can take the ball early / on the rise which Roddick couldn't really do. 03/04 were held outdoor but the former had peak Fed and latter has been discussed ITT.

I wonder why Ivanisevic did much better indoors than Roddick when they are superficially similar players (yes actually rather different other than the booming serve but how exactly does this work out?)
@metsman could you help us with this as well?

 

[ichaseballs]

Every ATP player agrees a monster serve is a big advantage. Makes winning that much easier. No doubt why Roddick had such a good win%.
That said they're both great in their own way. Both great players, both unstoppable when playing well.

nearly tied in most categories

https://www.atptour.com/en/players/atp-head-2-head/lleyton-hewitt-vs-andy-roddick/h432/r485

Roddick v Hewitt: Who Was Better In Their Peak? – The Versed

www.theversed.com

 

[metsman]

I wonder why Ivanisevic did much better indoors than Roddick when they are superficially similar players (yes actually rather different other than the booming serve but how exactly does this work out?)
@metsman could you help us with this as well?

Goran is overall a fast courter through and through, Roddick isn't quite (not that he's a slow courter, I'll explain in more detail).

Goran had better feel and thus was better suited to the slick indoor game where rallies are extremely fast (but there are still quite a few rallies!) Roddick is actually not a guy who loves very fast rallies. He likes grass because serves are harder to return on grass than indoors and grass has very few rallies. Indoors is probably the truest overall test of fast court prowess, just a serve alone won't be enough to bring success like it could to an point on grass, you need a complete fast court game. Goran was a natural fast courter through and through despite his weaknesses. Roddick's identity really wasn't as a fast courter, yes he had a great serve and forehand (at least at some points) but his style of play was built for outdoor courts all the way where the elements slow down the speed of the game. Look how much Roddick liked Miami for instance, as a junior Roddick was very much a grinder with a big serve. He could pop the FH, but also loved a gritty behind the baseline physical game. This is why I think it's laughable when people say Roddick would be tougher than Federer on true fast courts, yeah the serve would be a handful but in every other part of the game Federer is a significantly more natural fast court player. He loves low bounces, playing fast and has some of the best reflexes ever. Even today he looks like a totally different player when he goes to Basel. Roddick likes a serve dominated game, yes, but if he has to rally he'd much rather rally on even a slower outdoor HC than a slick and fast indoor court.

Let's not forget that Roddick played with fairly extreme grips and wasn't comfortable with the transition game, these are not the hallmarks of a great indoor or low bounce player. Yes it worked on grass because his serve was so effective on grass and grass sees fewer extended rallies(and modern grass probably bounces higher than slick indoor courts anyways). I also think rallies on grass are slower than rallies indoors because the bounce is (was) so uncertain on grass that things have to be more measured if you are playing from the baseline. Indoors forces more rallies and due to the sure bounce you can just swing away and thus you need to be very comfortable with very fast extended rallies and a low bounce, Roddick wasn't.

However, there's also a factor of Roddick almost always being worn down by indoors season. The 03-04 TMCs weren't even indoors but he had disappointing losses in both. Goran made very sure to peak for Wimby and indoors (although he wasn't at all bad on clay, USO was where Goran was really tragic but he's just not mentally cut out for the environment, stark contrast to Roddick obviously). Roddick actually usually did better in the early season indoor events (San Jose and Memphis, heck even won in Lyon on carpet).

 

[WestboroChe]

Don’t like Hewitt but he’s the clear choice here. Just ask yourself this. If you had to pick one of these guys to win a match to save your life who are you going to pick? The guys who plays so hard he pisses everyone off or the guy who fell down at the biggest spots over and over again?

 

[Nordung]

Don’t like Hewitt but he’s the clear choice here. Just ask yourself this. If you had to pick one of these guys to win a match to save your life who are you going to pick? The guys who plays so hard he pisses everyone off or the guy who fell down at the biggest spots over and over again?

You really think Hewitt would beat prime Federer in Wimb final?

 

[WestboroChe]

You really think Hewitt would beat prime Federer in Wimb final?

No. But that’s not the question. The question is who was the better player. It’s Hewitt. Even if I wish it weren’t so.