Roddick Dumps Gilbert

S

Springfield

Guest
Roddick sacks Gilbert
By Leo Schlink
December 13, 2004

ANDY Roddick has ended his 18-month partnership with coach Brad Gilbert.

The world No. 2 and US Open winner won 121 of 147 matches and nine titles under Gilbert, but has decided it is time for a change.

No reason has been given for the split, which comes just two weeks after Gilbert was strongly criticised by Mike Agassi, father of Andre Agassi, another former Gilbert charge.

Roddick sacked his previous coach Tarik Benhabiles after an opening-round loss to Armenian Sargis Sargsian at the French Open last year.

Gilbert, who parted from Agassi the previous season, immediately revived the young American's stocks with a typically heady game plan and improved concentration.

The author of the aptly titled Winning Ugly, Gilbert guided Roddick to the No. 1 mark last year and helped the 22-year-old to titles at Miami, Queen's Club, San Jose and Indianapolis this season.

Gilbert's departure will trigger a clamour for the unexpectedly vacant position, and Gilbert is unlikely to remain on the sidelines for long either.

Roddick had appeared unusually quiet during the US's 3-2 Davis Cup final defeat to Spain in Seville this month.

It is understood he was mulling over the decision.

Former world No. 1 Jim Courier's name has already been linked to Roddick.

Mike Agassi recently touched on Gilbert's gregarious nature.

"You can shut the Grand Canyon, but you can't shut Brad Gilbert's mouth," he said.

Herald Sun
 
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splink779

Guest
Holy **** if this is real and he gets Courier that would be awesome. Courier's the man
 

drakulie

Talk Tennis Guru
I could coach Roddick easily..... Learn how to volley if you want to beat Federer!

Whenever you hit to his backhand, he blocks it back leaving you an easy, floating sitter in the middle of the court.

Serve it to his backhand, and then volley the floating ball into the open court.

That will be $60,000. Thank you! Make the check payable to drakulie@aol.com.
 

Vlad

Professional
That's a drastic change on the Andy's part. I thought there were doing just fine and Andy's game has been improving (slowly I should add but there was an imporvement). I think that even this year he is much better player than was last year and I wonder what changed his mind?
Maybe that loss to Hewitt at the masters influenced his decision..
 
L

legkickbackhand

Guest
I think Andy is making a good move here. Gilbert's approach with Andy was for him to use his power to win matches, and frankly, it wasn't working in the biggest matches. Andy is a great competitor and wants to not just be in the biggest matches with Federer, he wants to win them. Gilbert wasn't helping him do that. Andy needed to make a change. I hope he doesn't turn to Courier though. Andy's got a lot or grit to himself, Courier wouldn't be giving him anymore of that. Courier had a terrible backhand, so he wouldn't be helping Andy's much. Courier's style was to run around his backhand and hit the forehand, so he would turn Andy into a Carlos Moya with a huge serve. Courier did have some success on clay though, so there's a thought. But I do think Andy needs to come to net. In time he'll learn. I was impressed by the effort he put into coming to the net at the Masters Cup, but then he ran into Hewitt, who Federer not withstanding, is the best at hitting passing shots in the game. Andy's young, he has time, but I agree with this move. But please Andy, clean up the forehand a little, keep working on the backhand, stop trying to break serve speed records, and learn to come to net and put away easy balls. GOOD LUCK!
 

NoBadMojo

G.O.A.T.
well maybe he thinks since fed doesnt really need a coach he doesnt either..lol. the reality is roddick aint no fed and coaches arent miracle workers....the only chance roddick had/has is to overpower someone....much like the williamses....when they are losing and have to change gameplans the only alternative they have is to hit even harder....gilbert knows this....roddick has been playin since he was very young and if he doesnt have the skillset by now, i dont think he's gonna ever have it and no coach in the world is going to make much of a difference (i say this realizing that some players like wilander and graf and others developed a wider arsenal later in their careers)...prob w. power is, soon there are younger people coming along that hit it even harder and your reign based solely on power is gonna be shortlived. maybe roddick grew weary of the constant yapping by gilbert and gilbert didnt heed the gag order :) i think roddicks skills really didnt improve much at all this year altho he tried more stuff..his backhand got better but i think his forehand slipped a bit...more people were on to his serve, and his volley skills are ridiculously bad let alone he cant even get his body in a good volley position. i think he'll slip even more in the rankings in '05'.my .02
 

Chadwixx

Banned
Gilbert is unlikely to remain on the sidelines for long either

im not sure the author of this article knows much about tennis. no one would take gilbert until roddick got him. even kournakova wouldnt hire him when he offerd his services.
 

AAAA

Hall of Fame
Y'all were talking about whether Federer will hire Darren Cahill next year once Agassi decides to part company with him but here is the inside scoop, Federer has poached Gilbert from Roddick in a secret deal.
 
wow

Tennis coaches don't have long lives these days, do they? Aren't players loyal anymore?
That being said, I think Courier would be an interesting choice for Roddick's next coach. Andy seemed to debate his decision for a while.
 

PJVA

Rookie
drakulie said:
I could coach Roddick easily..... Learn how to volley if you want to beat Federer!

Whenever you hit to his backhand, he blocks it back leaving you an easy, floating sitter in the middle of the court.

Serve it to his backhand, and then volley the floating ball into the open court.

That will be $60,000. Thank you! Make the check payable to drakulie@aol.com.

You must not have noticed all the times Federer hits winners down the line with his backhand.
 

drakulie

Talk Tennis Guru
You must not have noticed all the times Federer hits winners down the line with his backhand.

This is also true.

On second thought Andy, Good Luck finding a way to beat Federer. Maybe hire Tanya Harding to break his knee caps before the match.
 

Rabbit

G.O.A.T.
This is terrible news. I hope this doesn't mean a return to the dreaded visor.

Actually, it is bad news. It would appear that Roddick is looking for a quick fix. In addition to trying to become a S/V player seemingly overnight, he now is ditching the brains of the outfit it would seem. Roddick's game and results improved since Gilbert came on board, the only thing Roddick, Gilbert, or anyone else couldn't have forseen was the emergence of Federer as a world beater. Nothing anyone could've done would've prevented that, I agree with Mojo.

Somebody write this down. Roddick will never, ever, in a million matches become a natural volleyer. He should look at another young man who used to hit the ball harder than anyone else, a guy named Agassi. Lendl dubbed AA a "haircut and a forehand". Well, Andy doesn't have the haircut, but he is a first serve and a forehand. His game is definetly not unsalvagable, but you can't turn it inside out and upside down and expect to win.

While it may seem like a trite formula, Gilbert (and who knows, he may have done this) should've molded Roddick in Agassi's mold. Roddick should a) work on his fitness, b) work the points, 7 - 8 balls side to side, and c) dial the power in a notch. His encounters with Haas on clay should have proven that it ain't all about power.

Roddick's play can be summed up by one line from the immortal movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Sundance asks "Do you think you used enough dynamite there, Butch?"

Seriously, Roddick should bag the S/V and become more consistent in his strengths, first serve and groundstrokes. Don't hit either as hard as you can, get yourself fit and grind the other guy into whatever surface you're playing on. Agassi has done very well with that, even against Federer. Agassi's last couple of encounters with Fed have gone to the wire using the same old same old.
 

Kobble

Hall of Fame
I wonder if JMAC will be the new coach. He is gung ho for American tennis, and he knows a thing or two about volleys. Personally, I would make an offer to Muster. The psychology of having him in your corner would drive you to destroy any opponent.
 

rafael

Rookie
I think many saw this coming. In 2003 the most significant contribution I saw to roddick's game by gilbert was to stay cool on big points and not get overly emotional. Yet in 2004 roddick exploded many times which cost him some very important matches. It just didn't seem like roddick was improving at all this year.
 

NoBadMojo

G.O.A.T.
think it is much bigger news in oz than here in the states, because i think T is popular in the downunder..certainly not popular here in the states.....where's gailan? is T very popular still with only hewitt and mollick basically to be crazy about?
 

Brian Purdie

Semi-Pro
Hire paul annacone and learn how to volley. Courier was too great a player to ever coach well. Ever notice that only the mediocre do well at coaching further down the line. Maybe Krickstein or Mayotte are available.
 

VamosRafa

Hall of Fame
Andy isn't the only one who has to find a way to beat Federer. The whole ATP is struggling with that conundrum.

And many players have trouble beating Andy, particularly on hardcourt. If they didn't, he wouldn't be No. 2 in the world.

I think it's great that Andy is trying new things with his game. I agree he'll never be a natural S&V player, but if he can mix it up, it's going to help him against players such as Tim Henman.

Andy benefitted from a change in coaches a couple years ago, and perhaps he'll benefit again. I would love to see him pair up with Jim Courier. Jim has very little coaching experience, but he is no dummy.

Should be interesting to see what happens.
 

bertrevert

Legend
NoBadMojo said:
is T very popular still with only hewitt and mollick basically to be crazy about?

Yes it is (but the "golden age" has passed). Hewitt is a household name, perhaps not so Molik. Things seems a bit thin after that...

Anyway, Roddick has nevertheless had a great year - it's just that Federer is spoiling his party. Gilbert added some mental-toughness to R's game (think Roddick vs. El Ayanoui at the Oz Open) and yet he has relied on the strengths already there (forehand and serve). I don't think much else obvious has been added. Which is a shame.

I cannot see why Roddick S&V on clay at the Davis Cup? Why didn't he grind it out a bit more with a few loopy groundstrokes. Moya was looping everything up. Roddick could have stuck with Moya. Gilbert gave him the wrong gameplan IMO.

I don't think Gilbert can help Roddick's game anymore and so it must be time to move on.
 

Ronaldo

Bionic Poster
Maybe Pete needs a challenge. Fedex, he ain't just another player! This guy is a wrecking machine! And he's hungry! Hell, Andy you haven't been hungry since you won the US Open. Maybe Pete can help him learn to volley and find the eye of the tiger.
 

The tennis guy

Hall of Fame
Rabbit said:
This is terrible news. I hope this doesn't mean a return to the dreaded visor.

Actually, it is bad news. It would appear that Roddick is looking for a quick fix. In addition to trying to become a S/V player seemingly overnight, he now is ditching the brains of the outfit it would seem. Roddick's game and results improved since Gilbert came on board, the only thing Roddick, Gilbert, or anyone else couldn't have forseen was the emergence of Federer as a world beater. Nothing anyone could've done would've prevented that, I agree with Mojo.

Somebody write this down. Roddick will never, ever, in a million matches become a natural volleyer. He should look at another young man who used to hit the ball harder than anyone else, a guy named Agassi. Lendl dubbed AA a "haircut and a forehand". Well, Andy doesn't have the haircut, but he is a first serve and a forehand. His game is definetly not unsalvagable, but you can't turn it inside out and upside down and expect to win.

While it may seem like a trite formula, Gilbert (and who knows, he may have done this) should've molded Roddick in Agassi's mold. Roddick should a) work on his fitness, b) work the points, 7 - 8 balls side to side, and c) dial the power in a notch. His encounters with Haas on clay should have proven that it ain't all about power.

Roddick's play can be summed up by one line from the immortal movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Sundance asks "Do you think you used enough dynamite there, Butch?"

Seriously, Roddick should bag the S/V and become more consistent in his strengths, first serve and groundstrokes. Don't hit either as hard as you can, get yourself fit and grind the other guy into whatever surface you're playing on. Agassi has done very well with that, even against Federer. Agassi's last couple of encounters with Fed have gone to the wire using the same old same old.

I agree with Rabbit completely. There is no quick fix in Roddick's game to surpass Federer. The power is there, but the game isn't there. Before Gilbert, Roddick's game was one dimensional, with suspect mental game. With Gilbert, he has improved in all aspects of his game, and mentally he is there. He is where he should be, solid No. 2 with several players can challenge him for No. 2 - Hewitt and Safin etc.

However, he is looking for quick fix with his game, and his volley. He is over doing now in matches. He will never be a natural volleyer if he isn't one by age of 22 consider how long he has been playing tennis. Against top players, his volley works only as a surprise.

Good luck to Courier if he decides to do it. I doubt he will have immediate success as Gilbert had with Roddick. It is a matter of fact, it is more difficult to improve at this point of his career technically. And face it, Roddick is a grinder as is Courier. Neither of their games work against a genius when the genius is on top his game aka Federer and Sampras.
 

VictorS.

Professional
I also totally agree with what rabbit said. I think Roddick should amp up his fitness level like an Agassi. Roddick's in great shape already....but there's definitely room for improvement. At Wimbledon for example, fatigue I think played a major role in him losing that final match. If he could've sustained the level he was initially playing at....there's no doubt in my mind he would've won the match.
 

david aames

Professional
Still, if it's news the AP will cover it and it's nowhere to be seen on the wire. Nothing on Roddick's site either.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/fronts/TENNIS?SITE=AP& SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Also why is that the story was brought here by a first time poster? I have my doubts on this one.

NoBadMojo said:
think it is much bigger news in oz than here in the states, because i think T is popular in the downunder..certainly not popular here in the states.....where's gailan? is T very popular still with only hewitt and mollick basically to be crazy about?
 

david aames

Professional
Ok, more on more it seems to me like wishful thinking or plain old gossip.

Same guy...

Federer woos Roche
By LEO SCHLINK
3104

TONY Roche has been linked again to the most coveted job in tennis -
coaching world No. 1 Roger Federer.

Roche, the modest Sydneysider who guided Pat Rafter and Ivan Lendl to the
peaks of the game, was first targeted by the Federer camp during the
Australian summer season.
But the former Davis Cup great and Grand Slam singles champion was unable to
give the Swiss stylist a commitment to return full-time to the circuit.

Federer, however, has persuaded Roche to be involved in a series of private
practice sessions recently and there are increasingly strong suggestions
from Switzerland Federer might have snared the former Australian Davis Cup
coach.

Federer, 23, has been playing without a coach since he split from Swede Pete
Lundgren - now working with Russian Marat Safin - after winning the Tennis
Masters Cup in Houston last year.

His form has not suffered, with the right-hander compiling a 69-6 record
with 10 singles titles this season, crowned by triumphs at the Australian
Open, Wimbledon and US Open.

Federer is believed to have sounded out Roche in January as he sought a
return to the Australian coaching system. He was originally groomed by South
Australian Peter Carter, who was killed in a road accident in South Africa
two years ago.
 

jun

Semi-Pro
I disagree with Rabbit actually.

Agassi is a better mover than Roddick. Agassi was so solid and strong from the baseline, and could rally with anyone in the world.

On the other hand, Roddick is not going to many baseline rallies that start from neutral position (w/o serve). His game revolves around serve and forehand. Hit a big serve, and use his forehand to finish off the points.

Working the point is always important, but Agassi and Roddick can't work the point in the same way. Telling Roddick that he should rather grind than to go for his shots is somewhat similar to telling Pete Sampras to rather grind than to go for his shots (except Roddick doesn't have Pete's athleticism, or volley).

I think Brad Gilber was gearing Roddick to right direction by trying to make him come to net more and more. Right now, Roddick has trouble against players who can handle his power, and stay in neutral position long enough to force him to go for even bigger shot. Agasint these players, mixing it up (by coming to net here and there), will help a lot.
 

Noelle

Hall Of Fame
David Aames, you're right to doubt Leo Schlink.

(The Herald Sun is a tabloid, by the way. It also published the gossip item about Andy Roddick and Paris Hilton snogging.)

I've been following the development of this news story-slash-rumor since it first showed up on the FoxSports Australia website. Since then other papers have picked it up, but my main problem with the first story (and its progeny) is that there are no sources named, quoted, or referred to. It just announces that Roddick and Gilbert are over with no statement from either camp as well.

None of the major news services are carrying this.

Also, doesn't anybody think it's strange for this news concerning an American player (who is right now in the U.S.) to come from Australia?

Smells like rumor to me right now.

(Edited to remove spelling errors.)
 

VamosRafa

Hall of Fame
I still don't know if this story is authentic, but I've seen it posted on US tennis sites, so I think it is. :?:

Leo Schlink is a well respected Australian tennis journalist. He worked with Pat Rafter for years, and he co-authored Pat Rafter's book, "Rocket to the Top."

Don't know why he got the scoop. But perhaps that was the plan. Nothing yet on Andy's official site.
 

Power Game

Professional
david aames said:
Also why is that the story was brought here by a first time poster? I have my doubts on this one.

Yeah, me too. I'd probably have heard about from about 10 other sources by now if it was true...
 

Noelle

Hall Of Fame
Leo Schlink may be a respected Australian journalist. But, as David Aames pointed out, he's already given us a bum steer on Federer supposedly wooing Tony Roche as coach.
 

VamosRafa

Hall of Fame
It wasn't a bum steer, as far as I can tell.

Roger talked about it a lot in Houston, and admitted he'd be working with Tony Roche before the Aus Open. He said it likely is a one-off item, but then again, he didn't exclude other possibilities.

Here's the bit from Houston. (Again, it's always good to read what the players themselves say. I highly recommend reading their interviews. It would help/justify/preclude/highlight/eliminate many of the debates here.)

From Saturday, November 13, 2004 (from asapsports.com):


Q. I have a question about Tony Roche. You will be working with him to prepare for the Australian Open?

ROGER FEDERER: Yes.

Q. Why him?

ROGER FEDERER: Well, it's just because we, as you maybe know, we just had a few days together after the Bangkok and I asked him if he had maybe just some more time at the end of the year. He said, "Yeah."

Q. Why did you choose to work with him a few days? Because he was an Australian?

ROGER FEDERER: Well, no, I just thought about who could maybe just help me out for, you know, the practice session at the end of the year. He came to my mind. I asked him, and, you know, he said it was okay. But that's all. That's probably also going to be the last practice session we're going to have together.

Q. Why do you need somebody to help you?

ROGER FEDERER: No, because I think it's important, you know, still to maybe get some new ideas or just to have a setup, you know. And not always have to rely on myself. I think that's the reason. I think it makes sense.

So I'm sure that Leo was taking this info and working from there. Perhaps he has more info now than we had in November. :?:


And from what I understand the Roddick/Gilbert split will be published in the mainstream US press very soon. We shall see.
 

Rabbit

G.O.A.T.
jun said:
I disagree with Rabbit actually.

Agassi is a better mover than Roddick. Agassi was so solid and strong from the baseline, and could rally with anyone in the world.

On the other hand, Roddick is not going to many baseline rallies that start from neutral position (w/o serve). His game revolves around serve and forehand. Hit a big serve, and use his forehand to finish off the points.

Working the point is always important, but Agassi and Roddick can't work the point in the same way. Telling Roddick that he should rather grind than to go for his shots is somewhat similar to telling Pete Sampras to rather grind than to go for his shots (except Roddick doesn't have Pete's athleticism, or volley).

Jun- look at Agassi when he came on tour. All he had was a forehand, no serve. Agassi's strength was hitting the forehand period. Pancho Gonsalez, his ex-brother-in-law proclaimed at the time that Agassi's backhand was actually his more reliable shot because it wouldn't break down. But, I digress. It wasn't until Agassi teamed up with Gilbert that he actually began to understand his strengths versus other players.

After Gilbert, Agassi gave up his McDonald's diet, he began to eat right, and he began to train for the long haul. His marriage to Brooke Shields was a terrible distraction, but it did serve to rededicate him to the game and his fitness, always his fitness.

My point is that tactically, Roddick was at the point Agassi was early in his career. Agassi relied as Roddick relies on the forehand for his main strength. These two apparently diverged when Roddick decided to become more of a S/V player.

To me, the difference here is analogous to the different paths that two smaller men took. Michael Chang and Marcelo Rios played very similar games (although Chang's was much less talented IMO). Chang decided that the long body racket would enable him to win cheap points on his serve by giving him more leverage thus enabling him to serve like a taller player. He concentrated his efforts in this direction and subsequently, his ranking and results suffered. Rios, on the other hand, never left his strengths, his movement, and shot selection. Rios' serve strength was in the deceptiveness and placement, not the power.

Agassi at the same point in his career that Roddick was when he teamed with Gilbert played much the same game. They both relied on power and short points, hitting the GrandStand shot if you will. Difference is, Agassi danced with what brung him to the dance and Roddick decided to get another partner, one with which he was not familiar.

Technically, Roddick's serve is too good to S/V. Roddick's serve is so fast, that it gives him no time to get to net. If the returned gets it back, Roddick is not in close enough to hit an effective volley. Edberg and Rafter were both very effective because they had kick deliveries that enabled them to get in close. McEnroe was in because he was/is blessed with such footspeed, and the placement and delivery of his serve usually dictated a weak return from his opponents. Roddick's serve is not like either of these guys. If his opponents get onto his serve, which it appears is going on now, he is all at sea at net.

Further, Roddicks' approaches are really poor. I've noticed that he approaches on a ton of cross court balls. When I was coming up, you never approached cross court, you hit winners cross court. Approach shots were hit down the line to cut the amount of court your opponent could hit into. My point here is that Roddick wants to get in, problems are he doesn't know the transition game and he technically is not comfortable volleying. Notice that when Roddick does get to net, he never makes a tough volley. To me, he is more in the Connors vein, hitting a ground stroke that sets up a weak reply that he can finish at net. He is nowhere near a Paul Annacone who can come in on anything and have a shot at winning the point.

After this long-winded and rambling diatribe, I should restate. Roddick at the point that Gilbert came into his career basically had the same strengths & tactics that Agassi had + one helluva first serve. IMO, he should have gone more toward Agassi's game than Sampras'.
 

VictorS.

Professional
I think we discount Roddick's movement and athleticism on this board. Agassi is not exactly the quickest guy on the tour (though far from the slowest). I would even venture to say Roddick has more potential as a mover than Agassi. I think Roddick could perhaps benefit from a little weight loss. He's such a big guy on the court....I think he expends so much energy carrying all that weight on the court (in comparison to his lighter competitors ie Feder and Hewitt). If he were to drop some weight, I definitely think his stamina throughout the match would improve. In addition, I think you wouldn't see the dropoff in his game in the latter parts of the match like we saw in the wimbledon final vs federer.

Rabbitt, I agree with you regarding Roddick's serve...it really doesn't serve him well in the S/V game. However, his second serve kicker is one of the best in the game....and I think that is the type of serve he could eventually use to S&V if he ever cleans up his net game.
 

BreakPoint

Bionic Poster
bertrevert said:
Gilbert added some mental-toughness to R's game (think Roddick vs. El Ayanoui at the Oz Open).......

Actually, that match happened before Gilbert became Roddick's coach. It was at the 2003 Aus. Open in Jan. 2003. Roddick hired Gilbert after his 1st round loss at the French Open in May 2003.
 

AndrewD

Legend
Quite right to have serious doubts about the validity of the story, remember the old maxim 'believe nothing you read and only half of what you see'.

However, I wouldn't take it as mere gossip because it turned up in an Australian newspaper first. Being roughly 14 hours ahead of the States things do get into print here, usually, ahead of other countries.

As of writing this response The Times, one of England's 'serious' newspapers has reported the same story, filed by their tennis correspondant Neil Harman.

Regardless, if it is true and we are going to speculate, perhaps Darren Cahill might come into the mix somewhere along the line.
 

Deuce

Banned
Regardless of who is or isn't or was or will be Roddick's coach, you people who believe he will one day be even a moderately decent volleyer are dreaming in technicolor.

John McEnroe stands a better chance of regaining the #1 spot in the world by playing power tennis from the baseline than Roddick has of ever learning how to volley properly.
 

bertrevert

Legend
Deuce said:
you people who believe he will one day be even a moderately decent volleyer are dreaming in technicolor.
I freeze-framed his volleys on this digital box I have (no video stutter therefore) and Roddick isn't bending his knees, isn't punching the volley, isn't doing much right - those volleys look bad in slow-mo. He's bending from the waist, drops the racquet away upon contact (not just on a drop-v) and seems pretty uncomfortable with it all (too much thought). Most of the volleys pop-up instead of skidding through meaning IMO he's late, he's bending under net-level to hoik them over, and he's got the wrong racquet.

Regardless of the veracity of the present Roddick story, seems to me all here would agree a change of coach might be due if he is to alter and improve his game. :eek:


Addendum:
Deuce said:
Roddick hired Gilbert after his 1st round loss at the French Open in May 2003.
thx... :oops:
 

david aames

Professional
I wouldn't consider that a blessing, Andrew. The London Times, Herald Sun and Fox Sports are all owned by Murdoch...

As far as the Tony Roach story is concerned. I was actually commenting more on the style, Susan. Would you say that Federer wooed Roche? The whole piece is made out of hints and insinuations and does not quote on/off record sources close to the story.

AndrewD said:
As of writing this response The Times, one of England's 'serious' newspapers has reported the same story, filed by their tennis correspondant Neil Harman.
 

Rickson

G.O.A.T.
PJVA said:
drakulie said:
I could coach Roddick easily..... Learn how to volley if you want to beat Federer!

Whenever you hit to his backhand, he blocks it back leaving you an easy, floating sitter in the middle of the court.

Serve it to his backhand, and then volley the floating ball into the open court.

That will be $60,000. Thank you! Make the check payable to drakulie@aol.com.

You must not have noticed all the times Federer hits winners down the line with his backhand.
This is correct. Federer passes Roddick much more than he gets volleyed by him on his backhand side. Drak, your services are no longer needed and you will not be receiving a dime, let alone 60,000 dollars for that bad advice.
 

jun

Semi-Pro
Rabbit said:
jun said:
I disagree with Rabbit actually.

Agassi is a better mover than Roddick. Agassi was so solid and strong from the baseline, and could rally with anyone in the world.

On the other hand, Roddick is not going to many baseline rallies that start from neutral position (w/o serve). His game revolves around serve and forehand. Hit a big serve, and use his forehand to finish off the points.

Working the point is always important, but Agassi and Roddick can't work the point in the same way. Telling Roddick that he should rather grind than to go for his shots is somewhat similar to telling Pete Sampras to rather grind than to go for his shots (except Roddick doesn't have Pete's athleticism, or volley).

Jun- look at Agassi when he came on tour. All he had was a forehand, no serve. Agassi's strength was hitting the forehand period. Pancho Gonsalez, his ex-brother-in-law proclaimed at the time that Agassi's backhand was actually his more reliable shot because it wouldn't break down. But, I digress. It wasn't until Agassi teamed up with Gilbert that he actually began to understand his strengths versus other players.

After Gilbert, Agassi gave up his McDonald's diet, he began to eat right, and he began to train for the long haul. His marriage to Brooke Shields was a terrible distraction, but it did serve to rededicate him to the game and his fitness, always his fitness.

My point is that tactically, Roddick was at the point Agassi was early in his career. Agassi relied as Roddick relies on the forehand for his main strength. These two apparently diverged when Roddick decided to become more of a S/V player.

To me, the difference here is analogous to the different paths that two smaller men took. Michael Chang and Marcelo Rios played very similar games (although Chang's was much less talented IMO). Chang decided that the long body racket would enable him to win cheap points on his serve by giving him more leverage thus enabling him to serve like a taller player. He concentrated his efforts in this direction and subsequently, his ranking and results suffered. Rios, on the other hand, never left his strengths, his movement, and shot selection. Rios' serve strength was in the deceptiveness and placement, not the power.

Agassi at the same point in his career that Roddick was when he teamed with Gilbert played much the same game. They both relied on power and short points, hitting the GrandStand shot if you will. Difference is, Agassi danced with what brung him to the dance and Roddick decided to get another partner, one with which he was not familiar.

Technically, Roddick's serve is too good to S/V. Roddick's serve is so fast, that it gives him no time to get to net. If the returned gets it back, Roddick is not in close enough to hit an effective volley. Edberg and Rafter were both very effective because they had kick deliveries that enabled them to get in close. McEnroe was in because he was/is blessed with such footspeed, and the placement and delivery of his serve usually dictated a weak return from his opponents. Roddick's serve is not like either of these guys. If his opponents get onto his serve, which it appears is going on now, he is all at sea at net.

Further, Roddicks' approaches are really poor. I've noticed that he approaches on a ton of cross court balls. When I was coming up, you never approached cross court, you hit winners cross court. Approach shots were hit down the line to cut the amount of court your opponent could hit into. My point here is that Roddick wants to get in, problems are he doesn't know the transition game and he technically is not comfortable volleying. Notice that when Roddick does get to net, he never makes a tough volley. To me, he is more in the Connors vein, hitting a ground stroke that sets up a weak reply that he can finish at net. He is nowhere near a Paul Annacone who can come in on anything and have a shot at winning the point.

After this long-winded and rambling diatribe, I should restate. Roddick at the point that Gilbert came into his career basically had the same strengths & tactics that Agassi had + one helluva first serve. IMO, he should have gone more toward Agassi's game than Sampras'.

Chang and Rios are different type of baseliners. Chang really relied on his speed, consistency and getting one more back than the other. Rios is much more aggressive baseliner. He takes the ball early, had more fire power and relies on his shot making ability.
IMO game had passed by Chang. Players became so much stronger and was able to blow chang off the court. Yet Chang was still ranked #2 in 1996~7.

I don't really see Roddick and Agassi in same mold of player. Agassi is a much much better baseliner. Agassi's strength wasn't just his forehand. His bigger strength was the fact that he could take the ball very very early off both wings. While Roddick has the power on the forehand, he doesn't have the consistency or accuracy off both wings to out baseline other guys.
In fact, if you took serve out of the equation, Roddick won't out baseline many guys.

I don't think anyone's telling Roddick that he has to become serve-volley, rather people are telling to add that to his arsenal. As we have seen he has a lot of trouble against guys who would float the return back and get into point. If Roddick can serve-volley reasonably well, he can pressure the other guys to do more than just chip the return back.
 

@wright

Hall of Fame
If this story is true, I agree that this was a dumb move on Roddick's part. Federer, get your pockets ready for '05!
 

NoBadMojo

G.O.A.T.
with respect to rabbit, i think jun has it right. agassi is a way diff type of baseliner than roddick. agassi has the fine skills to hit the ball early and on the rise by hovering right at the baseline, which makes his groundies apear much much more powerful than they are making it tougher for the opponent to counter. roddick's ralley mode, on the other hand is from 20' behind the baseline, blunting his power and giving the oppnent lots more time to counter. agassi has an innate feel for the court and has lots more angles and variety and spins than roddick from the backcourt and much much more ball feel. i agree that rodick can get slight better conditioned, but his conditioning doesnt ever cost him matches that i can see. as to him serve and volleying, he does back off the serve when he makes his feeble attempts at serve and volley, by hitting it in the 115 range allowing him more time to get into a volley position (even edberg and rafter couldnt get away w. that and had to learn to win by staying back more later in their careers)..he does approach at a wrong angle and doesnt even follow the angle into the net as you should and he also puts his nose on the net leaving him wide open to any kind of lob as we saw moya do at will..in summary..no way roddick can ever be an agassi either..he just doesnt have the fine motor skills and the keen vision..he's gotta hit the ball when it is dropping rather than rising, and i fdont think that can be very easily changed at all without him losng a bunch of matches in the process, and that sure aint gonna happen..my .02
 

drakulie

Talk Tennis Guru
Rickson wrote:

Federer passes Roddick much more than he gets volleyed by him on his backhand side.

Your an idiot. Go and look at any match Roddick has played Federer. About 6 to 7 out of 10 times Roddcik hits a first serve to Federers backhand-Federer blocks it back. He does not hit passing shots from his backhand against Roddicks first serve, more than he simply blocks it back.

Your attention to detail is horrible.
 

Metzler

Rookie
NoBadMojo is exactly right about Roddick's game.
Personality-wise, as I said after the French, he will always require scapegoats, so Gilbert had to go to justify the hype surrounding his limited game.
 

@wright

Hall of Fame
I agree that Rickson is an idiot, but I have to believe that if Roddick started hitting volley winners off of those floating backhand returns, Federer would start rolling them easily to Roddick's feet, making for an extremely tough volley. Federer can more consistently hit any kind of shot than Roddick can volleying.
 
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