Roddick, Blake and Fish are a golden generation compared to Harrison, Querrey etc

[FedererGlides]

People criticise the Blake, Fish, Roddick generation a lot, but Roddick won a slam and reached many finals and was unlucky to face prime Federer. I don't see any young American that will come close to what Roddick achieved

Blake and Fish have done brilliantly when you compare them to the likes of Donald Young, Querrey and other young Americans. I don't see any young American that looks like he will have a better career than Blake and Fish have had.

Ryan harrison looks like he will be no better than Blake and Fish are/were, and I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't come close to what they have achieved. Blake and Fish have been criticised a lot, but didn't Blake get into the top 4 in the world at one point. Fish is doing right now what Blake did a few years ago.

Roddick, Blake and Fish were a golden generation compared to what is coming up.

 

[BeHappy]

Federer broke Blake's back in this match. Like watching a cowboy tame a horse. No matter how hard Blake bucked trying to throw Federer off Federer just always had an answer and broke Blake's spirit. The best I ever saw Federer play:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcT9CphRG_I


After that Blake didn't believe he could beat Federer, hence the YEC debacle. He wouldn't even run for the ball when Federer hit it into a corner, he would just look at it and shake his head. Blake was beating Nadal, Roddick, Nalbandian etc regularly but when he came up against Federer it was like he was preparing his losers speech while the match was still going.

 

[FedererGlides]

Federer broke Blake's back in this match. Like watching a cowboy tame a horse. No matter how hard Blake bucked trying to throw Federer off Federer just always had an answer and broke Blake's spirit. The best I ever saw Federer play:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcT9CphRG_I


After that Blake didn't believe he could beat Federer, hence the YEC debacle. He wouldn't even run for the ball when Federer hit it into a corner, he would just look at it and shake his head. Blake was beating Nadal, Roddick, Nalbandian etc regularly but when he came up against Federer it was like he was preparing his losers speech while the match was still going.

Yes but Blake was also a big choker from the start against Federer. Blake had his chances against Federer in the 2006 US Open quarter final but choked pathetically in the first set tie break and then mentally broke down after that. Blake was more talented than people give him credit for, he just lacked the mental strength or any real sense of composure. He didn't just choke against Federer. He choked against all the top players.

He also had an awful record in 5 set matches and you could bank on his forehand breaking down completely on big points.

 

[BeHappy]

Yes but Blake was also a big choker from the start against Federer. Blake had his chances against Federer in the 2006 US Open quarter final but choked pathetically in the first set tie break and then mentally broke down after that. Blake was more talented than people give him credit for, he just lacked the mental strength or any real sense of composure. He didn't just choke against Federer. He choked against all the top players.

He also had an awful record in 5 set matches and you could bank on his forehand breaking down completely on big points.

No you're wrong. Blake didn't choke in 2006. That was the match I posted.

 

[veroniquem]

Still the golden generation was Sampras, Agassi, Courier, Chang. Whether it's Roddick or Harrison generation, they do not come close to that one. Right now we have a European golden generation: Fed, Nadal, Djoko, Murray.

 

[FedererGlides]

No you're wrong. Blake didn't choke in 2006. That was the match I posted.

He most certainly DID choke in the first set tie break. I watched that match and while watching it I was discussing with other people on the ESPN tennis forum, and we were all laughing at Blake's choke in the first set tie break. Even Blake was laughing at his own choke in the first set tie break. He had many set points but kept dumping his forehand into the net. Mentally he went away completely and got bageled in the second set. He showed some heart in the third set and saved some matchpoints and took it into a 4th set, but it was too late. Federer was a little mentally fragile in that first set tie break, but Blake could not take advantage of it.

 

[monique s]

Federer broke Blake's back in this match. Like watching a cowboy tame a horse. No matter how hard Blake bucked trying to throw Federer off Federer just always had an answer and broke Blake's spirit. The best I ever saw Federer play:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcT9CphRG_I


After that Blake didn't believe he could beat Federer, hence the YEC debacle. He wouldn't even run for the ball when Federer hit it into a corner, he would just look at it and shake his head. Blake was beating Nadal, Roddick, Nalbandian etc regularly but when he came up against Federer it was like he was preparing his losers speech while the match was still going.

Blake is 3-9 head to head vs Andy Roddick so Blake did not beat Andy easily and often and one of his win vs Andy is b/c Andy retired with anckle injury in Queen's Club 3 yrs.ago.Fish did not do anything for 10 years and now, not that much better, does not win any tournament.

 

[monique s]

Still the golden generation was Sampras, Agassi, Courier, Chang. Whether it's Roddick or Harrison generation, they do not come close to that one. Right now we have a European golden generation: Fed, Nadal, Djoko, Murray.

Andy Roddick had no help from other Americans during 10 years...he was alone winning tournaments and doing his best.Fish was eating and losing in 1st round and Blake never changed his way of playing, bashing the ball and giving up when losing.

 

[FedererGlides]

Andy Roddick had no help from other Americans during 10 years...he was alone winning tournaments and doing his best.Fish was eating and losing in 1st round and Blake never changed his way of playing, bashing the ball and giving up when losing.

Blake gave up when he was losing because he knew he would choke if he got a chance, so he probably thought to himself "No point wasting my energy trying to win when I will just choke if I get any break point opportunities or setpoints". He was a complete headcase and needed a shrink more than just a sports psychologist.

But he was more talented than many people think. I think if he had the mental strength of Roddick, I honestly think he would achieved more than Roddick. Blake's forehand was technically better than Roddick's forehand, he was a better volleyer, better mover, more athletic. Roddick was more talented at serving, but Blake was more talented at everything else. But Blake had zero mental strength and you can't achieve anything great without some kind of mental strength.

 

[monique s]

Blake gave up when he was losing because he knew he would choke if he got a chance, so he probably thought to himself "No point wasting my energy trying to win when I will just choke if I get any break point opportunities or setpoints". He was a complete headcase and needed a shrink more than just a sports psychologist.

But he was more talented than many people think. I think if he had the mental strength of Roddick, I honestly think he would achieved more than Roddick. Blake's forehand was technically better than Roddick's forehand, he was a better volleyer, better mover, more athletic. Roddick was more talented at serving, but Blake was more talented at everything else. But Blake had zero mental strength and you can't achieve anything great without some kind of mental strength.

Do not agree, Blake was a ball basher and still is.

 

[BeHappy]

He most certainly DID choke in the first set tie break. I watched that match and while watching it I was discussing with other people on the ESPN tennis forum, and we were all laughing at Blake's choke in the first set tie break. Even Blake was laughing at his own choke in the first set tie break. He had many set points but kept dumping his forehand into the net. Mentally he went away completely and got bageled in the second set. He showed some heart in the third set and saved some matchpoints and took it into a 4th set, but it was too late. Federer was a little mentally fragile in that first set tie break, but Blake could not take advantage of it.

You're deluded if you think it was mental strength and not Federer playing his best ever level of tennis that separated them. For Blake to take a set off Federer in that match was phenomenal.

I watched it too. I remember it was 4 clock in the morning (UK), I needed to be up at 8 and being unable to tear myself away because it was so incredible.

 

[FedererGlides]

Do not agree, Blake was a ball basher and still is.

Roddick wanted it more than Blake. If Blake wanted it as much Roddick, he would have changed his game and got a better coach. It is ridiculous to suggest that Roddick had more natural talent off the ground than Blake which is what you seem to be suggesting. Blake's ball bashing is also a reflection of his lack of composure and mental strength. But Blake's ground strokes were technically better than Roddick's, he just didn't have the calmness, desire or focus to apply them properly.

It is truly remarkable what Roddick achieved with his limited talent. Don't forget Roddick was at one point ranked outside the top 50 in the junior rankings and was considering quitting tennis and going to college instead. Talented people don't have those thoughts. Roddick even lost to Serena Williams when he was very young. That tells you that Roddick was simply not born to play tennis. But Roddick's willpower, mental strength and desire took him to places that seemed impossible. I have lots of admiration for Roddick has achieved with his limited talent.

 

[Cfidave]

Roddick is the classic over achiever. Took limited talents & abilities and made the absolute most of them, through hard work and determination.

I don't see that happening with someone like Harrison. Although his game is somewhat ordinary, in todays power baseline game, I get the impression he thinks he is far better then he is. I would be suprised if he is able to reach and stay in the top 20.

Querrey would be my choice for the guy with the best chance of long term success.

 

[Matt H.]

there's something so "production assembly line" about watching Ryan Harrison's game.

Serve is big, but not huge. Forehand is big, but not huge. Backhand is respectable.

He's going to be the typical guy you see in the 2nd, sometimes 3rd round, facing one of the top guys and losing in a respectable match.

 

[jokinla]

Don't forget Ginepri in their class, as he went deep in the US Open semis.

 

[veroniquem]

Andy Roddick had no help from other Americans during 10 years...he was alone winning tournaments and doing his best.Fish was eating and losing in 1st round and Blake never changed his way of playing, bashing the ball and giving up when losing.

Roddick was the best American of his generation, still only 1 slam title which puts him at the same level as the worst American top player of the 1990s generation (below Sampras, Agassi and Courier), he's also below Chang in terms of master titles: Chang had 7, Roddick 5 and in terms of total # of titles won. So to me Roddick doesn't stand comparison to either Sampras, Agassi, Courier or Chang (even though Chang would be the closest match).

 

[jamesblakefan#1]

Andy Roddick had no help from other Americans during 10 years...he was alone winning tournaments and doing his best.Fish was eating and losing in 1st round and Blake never changed his way of playing, bashing the ball and giving up when losing.

Yet Blake finished 2006 ranked ahead of Roddick (#4) and helped get America a DC title in 07. :roll:

 

[bluetrain4]

Still the golden generation was Sampras, Agassi, Courier, Chang. Whether it's Roddick or Harrison generation, they do not come close to that one. Right now we have a European golden generation: Fed, Nadal, Djoko, Murray.

Even beyond the HOF Slam winners - Sampras, Agassi, Courier, Chang -- that generation had tough, great players who acheived a lot, like Todd Martin (2 Slam finals, 4 SF, 4 QF, 8 tour wins, 12 RU), Mal Washington ("only" 1 slam final and 1 QF, 4 tour titles), and David Wheaton (no stats on wiki, but I recall him having a fairly solid career, including a Masters RU and a Wimbledon SF). Washington's record isn't that amazing, but he was a solid pro for a while and, incredibly, only the 6th or 7th best American playing during the "golden generation" as you call it.

 

[monique s]

Yet Blake finished 2006 ranked ahead of Roddick (#4) and helped get America a DC title in 07. :roll:

Maybe but how long did he stay there? Staying top 10 for 10 years and some of those years, top 5 is much more difficult than reaching top 10 and a few weeks later, you are out, just like Fish.Did not stay top 10 for very long,1 year at the most and now he is 25 I think.
Andy worked hard and he has a very nice career.He should be proud of himself.

 

[jamesblakefan#1]

Maybe but how long did he stay there? Staying top 10 for 10 years and some of those years, top 5 is much more difficult than reaching top 10 and a few weeks later, you are out, just like Fish.Did not stay top 10 for very long,1 year at the most and now he is 25 I think.
Andy worked hard and he has a very nice career.He should be proud of himself.

Blake was top 10 (or thereabouts) from 3/20/2006-10/29/2007, 1/28/2008-1/19/2009. Of course Roddick's had a longer stay at the top, but it's stretching it to say he had 'no other help' from any other Americans during those years.

 

[フェデラー]

Blake was an amazingly talented player, I am sure he could have accomplished a lot more had his career not been sidelined by his traumatic injury, I'm sure things could have been different. I also contribute his downfall to shaving that great hair of his.

One thing I don't understand about America is we seem to only be able to create these giants with big serves. This is kind of true about Sampras too, but he was a lot more talented and had a lot more shots than people like Querrey and Isner. The only reason those two are ranked as high as they are is because of the serve, take that away from them and they have basically no game. Even if you took away Murray's, Djokovic's and Federer's serves, they still have massive games, incredible consistency and shot making (much similar to what Agassi and Chang were), and just doesn't seem to be in the repertoire of todays generation.

 

[Chillaxer]

Federer broke Blake's back in this match. Like watching a cowboy tame a horse. No matter how hard Blake bucked trying to throw Federer off Federer just always had an answer and broke Blake's spirit. The best I ever saw Federer play:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcT9CphRG_I


After that Blake didn't believe he could beat Federer, hence the YEC debacle. He wouldn't even run for the ball when Federer hit it into a corner, he would just look at it and shake his head. Blake was beating Nadal, Roddick, Nalbandian etc regularly but when he came up against Federer it was like he was preparing his losers speech while the match was still going.

What's weird about Federer is how he can look like he's not even breaking a sweat, just seems so effortless compared to other people. Like it's all worked out in his head.

 

[sureshs]

Roddick was the best American of his generation, still only 1 slam title which puts him at the same level as the worst American top player of the 1990s generation (below Sampras, Agassi and Courier), he's also below Chang in terms of master titles: Chang had 7, Roddick 5 and in terms of total # of titles won. So to me Roddick doesn't stand comparison to either Sampras, Agassi, Courier or Chang (even though Chang would be the closest match).

Those guys had hardly faced Fed or Nadal, and if they did, they lost (Sampras to Federer, Agassi to Federer and Nadal). There is no comparison between the top 3 today and those in a weak era.

 

[jokinla]

Even beyond the HOF Slam winners - Sampras, Agassi, Courier, Chang -- that generation had tough, great players who acheived a lot, like Todd Martin (2 Slam finals, 4 SF, 4 QF, 8 tour wins, 12 RU), Mal Washington ("only" 1 slam final and 1 QF, 4 tour titles), and David Wheaton (no stats on wiki, but I recall him having a fairly solid career, including a Masters RU and a Wimbledon SF). Washington's record isn't that amazing, but he was a solid pro for a while and, incredibly, only the 6th or 7th best American playing during the "golden generation" as you call it.

Back in the early 90's they used to have the grand slam cup, where they took the guys who did well at the slams together to play, and Wheaton won it, the prize, 2 million, that had to have been his happiest moment, especially because 2 million back then was like 20 now.

 

[AnotherTennisProdigy]

Is it strange that I think Fish and Blake had more talent than Roddick? Although he was a phenom at a young age, I feel he maxed out his potential early on. On the other hand you have Blake(mental strength holding him back) and Fish(fat) who never reached their full potential, although credit to Fish for fixing himself up at a late age.

IMO this generation isn't as talented. Also, it will be tough for Harrison to pull a Roddick, maxing out his potential through hard work. Roddick had the tour's greatest serve-forehand 1-2 punch. Harrison has good all round skills but no weapons to rely on.

 

[tacou]

You're deluded if you think it was mental strength and not Federer playing his best ever level of tennis that separated them. For Blake to take a set off Federer in that match was phenomenal.

I watched it too. I remember it was 4 clock in the morning (UK), I needed to be up at 8 and being unable to tear myself away because it was so incredible.

that was a great match, high level, Fed was unreal, but Blake indeed choked. He would not have won, but it should have been a 5 set classic, not just a mesmerizing but one-sided 4.

OP: Isner is considered what? I think he's the "next generation" and he's done basically as much as Fish in terms of grand slam results, and is knocking at the top 10 door.

Harrison could definitely have a better career than Fish. Harrison's generation is not very deep right now, he'll definitely pull at least a few slam QFs and some time in the top 10.

I don't see anyone doing what Andy did.