Roddick Dumps Gilbert

rommil

Legend
I think Roddick should at least do these among other things: lose some weight, try to stand nearer to the baseline and be less excitable and control his emotions.
 

spam

Rookie
I suspect this is not necessarily a question of direction so much as a personality issue.Me-thinks there was probably a major bust up after the loss to Hewitt ,I mean did you see the look of exhasperation on Gilberts face?The guy has some interesting tactical ideas but I'm sure he can become just a little overpowering at times and Roddick didn't need to keep hearing how he "should have "played the match.Don't write Roddick off because he isn't Fed or Pete or Andre ,his game isn't graceful but tennis needs competitors and this kid wants to win.
 

Vlad

Professional
From BradGilberttennis.com


"Recently, Andy Roddick informed me that he has decided to continue his career without my services. I have enjoyed all of my time with Andy. He has been a great student of the game during the time that we worked together and I am very proud of the results that were achieved. While I believe that there is still a great deal of work to be done, Andy clearly does not feel that way. I wish Andy all of the best and will be rooting for him." - Brad Gilbert


So, it is confirmed..
 

andfor

Legend
Wow! Roddick has plenty of work left in his game to catch Federer. I hope that his ego is not it they way of getting him there. It appears it may be............
 

Noelle

Hall Of Fame
Dear oh dear. Well, I stand corrected and chastised and deflated. :) I'm apt to be a little like Brad Gilbert: maybe I'm just as opinionated and talkative. However, I only have half (or even less) the facts to back it up. :D
 

drakulie

Talk Tennis Guru
@wright, you are right. But at somepoint you have to adjust and make the person pay for floating back easy returns. If, he then starts hitting hard dipping shots at your feet, you stay back, and mix it up.

Of course,easier said than done. However, these guys have all day to practice and improve thier game.
 

NoBadMojo

G.O.A.T.
you really cant turn tennis players into the type of players they dont have the capacity to be very well, and i think gilbert coached roddick correctly from what i saw..come out serving huge and rip forehand winners. kamakazee ball really doesnt work well to serve/volley or just volley...volleying is a very precise skill in which you need lots of ball feel and control...not just barging forward aimlessly..i do question him even trying to volley other than the occassional surprise tactic. the only game rodick will ever have is the power game...to me, he is the newer generation of the trained one dimensional tennis player aided by equipment, rather than the multi faceted instinctive tennis player. i can see that the two huge egos could have caused this relationship to crash and burn. so roddick had a nice run under the tuteledge of gilbert..time to move on if it no longer works..let's see how he does next year....i can see him slipping..he barely hung onto the #2 spot this year. my .o2
 

ohplease

Professional
This guy just had a year with results second to only one man: a player having one of the best seasons of ALL TIME. He lost early at the French, as expected, and went deep into the other three slams and Davis Cup (also on slow red clay) - losing close matches to three hot players (Safin, Federer, Johansson).

Hewitt came away from Houston talking about how he had a great year, just not as great as Fed. I don't know why Roddick can't say the same thing. Is it just because Roddick's actually got a chance at taking a set from Federer once in a while - as opposed to Hewitt?

Should he and Gilbert part ways? I don't know. Did Gilbert get the kid to compete more consistently day to day? Absolutely. Could Gilbert have taught him something more than that? I'm not sure he could have.

In any case, the sky ain't falling and I'm willing to bet money that all you naysayers aren't #2 in your league/age division/section - much less in the world.

And I don't even like Roddick that much. Jeez.
 

federerer

New User
Agassi is a special player - among the three or four most talented players in the modern era. His ability to take the ball early is still probably unmatched by anyone. by comparing andy to agassi, you under-rate agassi, IMO.

I like andy's toughness and heart, but I don't really like his game. He has way too many holes:
1. out of shape
2. lousy backhand
3. hands of stone
4. shaky mechanics

gilbert turn his pure power game into something a little more, but when he's on a surface that neutralizes his power he is in a tough situation. In fact, he's in a tough situation regardless because if he doesn't change his game, he'll never beat roger, but if he doesn't play his power game, he'll get beaten by the hewitts and Moyas.

I think letting go of gilbert is a bit short-sighted. Yes, he got destroyed by hewitt trying to come into the net (even roger doesn't really attack that much against hewitt). Yes, he got worked over in davis cup (come on, they're SPANIARDS playing on RED CLAY in their home country!). What andy should've done is take some losses next year and try to turn his game into more of an all-court game. This was probably Gilbert's vision. Andy perhaps saw the losses mounting and got impatient. So what's he going to do now?
 

jun

Semi-Pro
I had a little doubt when I first read this post.
I am starting to think that this is nothing more than a gossip. or BS for that matter. I haven't been able to find anything about this news anywhere but that website Herald Sun.com. Even tennisnews link leads to Heraldsun.com

Roddick didn't have as good of year as last year, but he still had great results finishing the year #2, Finalist at Wimbledon, and semifinalist at Aussie Open, a Masters Series. And he beat to players at Houston with exeception of Hewitt. While things are going incrediblity well, and making progress, it doesn't really make sense for him to dump Gilbert.

Despite what some people say, he appears to have a good head on his shoulder. And it seemed like he and Gilbert were getting along well.

At least, it seemed like Roddick realized that he needed to commit to coming to the net more often even though he gets burned every now and then. So on the surface, it looked like Roddick and Gilbert were on the same page about what Roddick had to do.
 

The tennis guy

Hall of Fame
NoBadMojo said:
you really cant turn tennis players into the type of players they dont have the capacity to be very well, and i think gilbert coached roddick correctly from what i saw..come out serving huge and rip forehand winners. kamakazee ball really doesnt work well to serve/volley or just volley...volleying is a very precise skill in which you need lots of ball feel and control...not just barging forward aimlessly..i do question him even trying to volley other than the occassional surprise tactic. the only game rodick will ever have is the power game...to me, he is the newer generation of the trained one dimensional tennis player aided by equipment, rather than the multi faceted instinctive tennis player. i can see that the two huge egos could have caused this relationship to crash and burn. so roddick had a nice run under the tuteledge of gilbert..time to move on if it no longer works..let's see how he does next year....i can see him slipping..he barely hung onto the #2 spot this year. my .o2

I agree with the assessment here. Everyone can see there is lots of room for improvement in Roddick's game. However, it seems he just can't improve enough to catch Federer. Too bad, Federer is a genius while Roddick isn't.

People don't understand why tennis players like Roddick and Venus Williams practicing all day, and can't improve their shortcomings. The problem is precisely because they have played all day and almost all of their lives. They can't be changed easily. If the instinct is there, and the technique is sound, and the problem is not doing enough in matches, then they can improve quickly; however if the instinct isn't there, and the technique isn't there, it is extremely difficult to improve on pro level. Roddick hits that bump now. No matter who he chooses to work with, the bump is there. It is easier to improve mentally on pro level than technically if the technique flaw is big.
 

Marius_Hancu

Talk Tennis Guru
NoBadMojo said:
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

Unfortunately, I have to share this skepticism. I haven't seen many juniors radically changing/upgrading their skillset in their late years, nor have I seen many pros changing in the midst of their careers. One of those who categorically advanced was Martina N, who is a perfectionist, but she was very versatile from the early years.

To some extent, this might be caused by the very patterned training sessions I see today.

The point with ARod is that's he's very good UNTIL he meets someone like Fed and then all his weaknesses are magnified. It's very difficult to train for such an encounter, because you don't find easily players of that caliber, and because too many of the pros today are made of the same mold (big FH, big serve, not much variety or imagination).
 

mrwise

Rookie
12.13.2004 - "Recently, Andy Roddick informed me that he has decided to continue his career without my services. I have enjoyed all of my time with Andy. He has been a great student of the game during the time that we worked together and I am very proud of the results that were achieved. While I believe that there is still a great deal of work to be done, Andy clearly does not feel that way. I wish Andy all of the best and will be rooting for him." - Brad Gilbert

This is from the Official Brad Gilbert Website.
 

@wright

Hall of Fame
We are bashing him and saying he isn't improving, but until he starts having his lunch eaten by more lesser players, I'd still say he's doing well.
 

jun

Semi-Pro
I think players can keep improving whether it's their net game, return game, or whatever.

Of course, weakness is never going turn into strength, but players can still improve it and add it to their game.

Rafter's baseline game improved a lot throughout his career. He mentioned that while he was preparing for Davis Cup against Spain on clay, he spent 3~4 hrs working on his baseline game with the captains. The same goes with Pete's baseline game, Tim Gully worked hard on his return game, and baseline game. As a result, Pete Sampras had pretty solid baseline game in mid 1990s, and his improved return brought him Wimbledon titles.
Even Martin N said that she learned to hit topspin backhand effectively after her career was over.

Sometimes player don't seem to get better at certain things because they are reluctuant to make changes whether it's technical or strategical or mental. I think as long as Roddick puts in hours on practice court and during match (which I think we witnessed during masters-cup), he will get better at the net.
 
F

Free_Martha

Guest
mrwise said:
12.13.2004 - "Recently, Andy Roddick informed me that he has decided to continue his career without my services. I have enjoyed all of my time with Andy. He has been a great student of the game during the time that we worked together and I am very proud of the results that were achieved. While I believe that there is still a great deal of work to be done, Andy clearly does not feel that way. I wish Andy all of the best and will be rooting for him." - Brad Gilbert

This is from the Official Brad Gilbert Website.

Best decision Roddick has made all year.

I hope he now finds a coach who will help him with the technical aspects of his game and to help evolve him into an allcourt player. I'd also like to see him with a coach who doesn't dismiss clay, the way Gilbert did/does.
 

NoBadMojo

G.O.A.T.
i dont think this is in the spirit of bashing (certainly not like it used to be around here).....i mean he's number 2 in the world right now altho barely...it's all relative as we know....i think he's doing well too, but the improvement i see (backhand) seems to be coupled w. a step back (forhand) and i try and block the image of him volleying completely out of mind..:)..players do plateau and max out as we all know, and even get passed by...and a coach at this level after someone has been playing hours a day since the age of 6 is only the mental coach, not someone who is going to develop the strokes of someone who has hit like 12 bazillion balls and has been given lesson after lesson, drill after drill, etc etc maybe the dude has already over -acheived....and there is certainly nothing wrong w. his career should he retire on the morrow....
 

Rickson

G.O.A.T.
drakulie said:
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.
Shut your hole, you wanna be 60k demanding fake coach.
 

Rickson

G.O.A.T.
@wright said:
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.
I know @wright is a moron.
 

Marius_Hancu

Talk Tennis Guru
I remember seeing twice a very painful expression on Gilbert's face (on TV, of course):

- towards the end of the Sampras Agassi match in 2001 USO (QF)

- towards the end of the match between Federer and Roddick this year in Montreal

In both instances, he was fired after that. I think he felt something at the time, even if in the 2nd case it took a while longer and ARod losing the USO title in the semis.

During the first match, he was trying to make small talk to Gil Reyes, who put up in response a stony face. Gil is still with Agassi.

Perhaps it's interesting to read this Gilbert interview given at the beginning of his relationship with ARod:
http://www.roddicknroll.com/article/art145.htm
 

The tennis guy

Hall of Fame
jun said:
I think players can keep improving whether it's their net game, return game, or whatever.

Of course, weakness is never going turn into strength, but players can still improve it and add it to their game.

Rafter's baseline game improved a lot throughout his career. He mentioned that while he was preparing for Davis Cup against Spain on clay, he spent 3~4 hrs working on his baseline game with the captains. The same goes with Pete's baseline game, Tim Gully worked hard on his return game, and baseline game. As a result, Pete Sampras had pretty solid baseline game in mid 1990s, and his improved return brought him Wimbledon titles.
Even Martin N said that she learned to hit topspin backhand effectively after her career was over.

Sometimes player don't seem to get better at certain things because they are reluctuant to make changes whether it's technical or strategical or mental. I think as long as Roddick puts in hours on practice court and during match (which I think we witnessed during masters-cup), he will get better at the net.

What you compared are different things. Rafter and Sampras don't have big technical shortcomings at baseline. Their problems are patience, so it is mental not technical. Roddick's shortcoming at the net is technical, not mental. We all know he is willing to try which will serve him well in the long run. However, the improvement there will be marginal.

10 years from now, will Roddick a better volleyer than he is now?Absolutely! Will it be the difference between him and Federer? Absolutely not!

People can argue for 10 years. In my opinion, he would get more benefit by being more consistent on the baseline from both sides than by being coming to the net often. Net should be an opportunistic place for him, his technique and instinct are not there, and will never be where he hopes to be if he comes to net too often.
 

alan-n

Professional
drakulie said:
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.

Just want to make note of the Federer Backhand. You should watch the Toronto master finals of Federer VS Roddick. Federer hit shots off hit backhand that andy didn't have much of a chance at all.

All I can say is watch the match.... Federer has such incredible court sense that the was one step ahead of anticipating Roddicks move to the net... That when Roddick did try to charge the net to volley he would hit tremendous down the line shots or wicked cross court angle shots that destroyed Roddick's confidence......

Quite simply don't be fooled by Federer's backhand, he wants you to think that it is weak so that you do come to the net. When the opponent does he is eaten alive.

Federer understands the mind game of tennis as well as anyone. Don't underestimate that.
 

drakulie

Talk Tennis Guru
alan-n, I totally understand and agree with what you are stating. However, that is not my point. My point is that Federer does not routinely hit clean winners from his backhand against Roddick's first serve. for themost part he would block/float them back.

If he could routinely hit clean winners off Roddicks first serve, then he would never even lose a point! EVER! But he can't, so he blocks back a lot of those serves and many of them just float.

Commentators have even said the same thing. Roddick should go after those floaters and just put them away from the net, rather than letting them bounce.
 

The tennis guy

Hall of Fame
drakulie said:
Commentators have even said the same thing. Roddick should go after those floaters and just put them away from the net, rather than letting them bounce.

Provided Roddick is a good volleyer. But he isn't, and will never be one.

It will be easier for him to come to the net after a short ball during a rally, but not serve and follow to the net immediately consistently. Serve and volley needs instinct, if you don't have one by the age of 22 for a professional tennis player, you will never get it. Lendl was a much better volleyer than Roddick. He tried througout his career in serving and volley, and never was really successful in doing it.
 

Vlad

Professional
The thing with Fed is that he passes so well off both sides especially after those approach shots. He anticipates where Roddick is gonna go before he comes to net and the next sec. Fed is there and waiting to hit a pass. He does it off both sides as well as anyone.
 
Noelle said:
VamosRafa, point taken. I stand corrected and chastised. :)

Yes, Noelle, that will teach you! Remember, anything you read on the internet or hear on TV MUST be TRUE. Do not wait for confirmation. Especially if it is from ANONYMOUS sources! ;-)
 

Rabbit

G.O.A.T.
jun & mojo - great points about Agassi vs. Roddick. I didn't consider Agassi's ability to take the ball a ton earlier than Roddick in my assessment. I do think Roddick could learn to the the ball earlier easier than volley though. :)

Regarding Rickson's assessment of Federer's backhand pass. IMO, with Federer, it's not any one single shot that makes him stand out from the crowd. He doesn't have as good a serve or running forehand as Sampras in his prime, he doesn't volley as well as McEnroe or Edberg, he doesn't move as well as Chang, and he doesn't hit groundies as well as Agassi, or his forehand as well as Roddick.

IMO, with Federer, it's the sum of all his parts that makes him great. He doesn't have a stand out shot, but all of his shots are better when considered together than anyone else on the planet. he simply does not have a weakness right now. Combine that with the mental side of his game, his tactics are spot on about 90% of the time, and you have a truly great tennis playing machine.

Roddick, on the other hand, while still a great player and above 99.99% of the rest of the world is suspect in a few departments. But, he is only suspect in the professional sense of the word. I dare say that anyone on these boards would kill to have Roddick's volleys (ok, maybe that's a bad example). It's just that when compared to others of his profession, some aspects of his game are seen as lacking. In particular, his tactics seem dogmatic. His current "come in on anything" approach just isn't going to win him many matches against guys who make their living playing tennis.
 

Rickson

G.O.A.T.
Rabbit, I disagree with you on a few points. I feel that Federer moves better and faster than Mike Chang ever did, Fed's forehand is definitely not inferior to Roddick's, Agassi doesn't hit better groundstrokes than Fed, and nobody in this entire forum would kill to have Roddick's volleying ability, nobody.
 

Vlad

Professional
I don't agree that Roddick hits his forehand better than Fed and I don't agree that Fed is slower than Chang.
Fed has much more variety with his forehand than Roddick does. He CAN hit it just as hard or even harder (if he wants to) but has much superior spins and placement.
He can also take it MUCH MUCH earlier than Roddick.
I also think that Fed is one of the fastest players ever. HE has better anticipation than Chang and doesn't need to run like he did. He simply knows where to be at any time during the game. That is why he is much superior than Chang in court coverage.
And yes, he has better groundies than Agassi. His variety along with power make him more unpredictable than Agassi ever was.
Andre hits with the same pace off both wings throughout the match. Well, he can create angles with his backhand very well, but Fed can do it off both sides. His backhands have so much variety, it is impossible to guess which shot he will pull next. He can hit it with tremendous top spin short angle. He can hit it flat down the line. He can hit low slice that will bring you to the net immediately and yes he can rip it cross court for a winner. Can Andre do all of that?
NO.
Andre hits cleanest ball in tennis but it is very predictable especially for someone of Fed's caliber.
 

NoBadMojo

G.O.A.T.
aye rabbit...nobody w. a power game should play it 20' behind the baseline..he needs to move way in..surely they know all this, and if roddick could do it, he would have done it by now..i mean, doesnt take a genuis to see this stuff. it's not like we humble tw posters see things that gilbert or whoever cant see..the reality is that roddick does the best he has with what he has to work with..he's a trained tennis player not a natural instinctive one, and he doesnt have the skillset of many of the other pros which he makes up for w. desire and mental toughness and a huge serve and waning huge forehand :) he's an anomoly..those come along ever so often where whatever combo of things he's been able to combine happened to hit the jackpot for him. the first serve/forehand player to ever make number1 that i can think of.
 

The tennis guy

Hall of Fame
NoBadMojo said:
aye rabbit...nobody w. a power game should play it 20' behind the baseline..he needs to move way in..surely they know all this, and if roddick could do it, he would have done it by now..i mean, doesnt take a genuis to see this stuff. it's not like we humble tw posters see things that gilbert or whoever cant see..the reality is that roddick does the best he has with what he has to work with..he's a trained tennis player not a natural instinctive one, and he doesnt have the skillset of many of the other pros which he makes up for w. desire and mental toughness and a huge serve and waning huge forehand :) he's an anomoly..those come along ever so often where whatever combo of things he's been able to combine happened to hit the jackpot for him. the first serve/forehand player to ever make number1 that i can think of.

Courier was a forehand player to make No. 1. Roddick is a Jim Courier type of player.

The big long loopy swing from Roddick prevents him from taking the ball on the rise aka Agassi and Federer.
 

NoBadMojo

G.O.A.T.
good point tennis guy however their games were vastly different. courier ran around his backhand sure but he played way farther in than rodick and his serve wasnt dominating like roddicks nor did he have putaway power w, his forehand like roddick....he was more like a precursor to agassi and ground his opponents and subsequently himself into the ground. he was a much more rounded player than roddick. you dont win the french w. just a forehand and serve and didnt courier win the french??
 

NoBadMojo

G.O.A.T.
mybe lendl was the one before to be number 1 w. a serve forehand game altho as mechanical and trained as he was, he was also alot more well rounded player than roddick..
 

@wright

Hall of Fame
Last I checked Federer had a longer and more loopy swing than Agassi. I think it would be very hard for Roddick to hit on the rise with his current flailing forehand, he would not be able to control the ball. Hitting on the rise works when the swing is controlled and utilizes good mechanics, not when you throw yourself into the shot like Roddick does. Hewitt is another example of someone who hits pretty early with a big backswing. The difference is that Hewitt doesn't bring his bent elbow up and back like Roddick and just let her rip. Rickson, you may want to head to the ultimate fighting (or whatever Rickson Gracie does) forum if you want people to think you are knowledgeable...
 

NoBadMojo

G.O.A.T.
good point @wright.....and that is why i comment that the roddick forehand slipped this year a bit....i dont know if it is because he is trying to hit it even harder, but he basically does everything possible wrong w. the pure drive forehand to hit it on the rise..his head then body body totally spin out of the shot well before impact, he stands straight up before impact and often his weight isnt moving into the shot...there is no way you can hit early or on the rise <effectively> w. mechanics like that..his backhand is a much better produced but less effective stroke..this was really glaring in the davis cup i thought when he really seemed to be mis timing his forehand on the slow red clay and hiting his bh much better..all IMO of course
 

Rickson

G.O.A.T.
@wright said:
Rickson, you may want to head to the ultimate fighting (or whatever Rickson Gracie does) forum if you want people to think you are knowledgeable...
I'm a mod on 2 mixed martial arts forums, but tennis is a great game and is my second love after the fighting arts.
 

jun

Semi-Pro
Rickson, I would take Roddick's volleying ability anytime. I am pretty darn sure he can out volley anybody on this forum...Unless there is ATP pro similing somewhere on this board.

I think it would be much easier for Roddick to learn volley better than to learn to take the ball earlier...

Regardless of HOW Roddick hits the forehand, you have to admit it's a one of the biggest forehand forehand in the game right now. He can go through most people with his forehand and serve. But there are a few player who can deal with his pace, and that's when Roddick seems to get into trouble. And it's one of the reasons why he needs to be able to come in. If Roddick could become reasonably good at the net. It would put that much more pressure on opponents.

I think Jim Courier and Roddick are from very similar mold, except Roddick has much more power. They both have pretty big serve, big forehand, and weak backhand. However Jim Courier was a pretty decent volleyer.

About Rabbit's comment towards Federer. Federer moves INCREDIBLY well, and is very very quick. What makes him more dangerous is that he understands the geometry of the court so well, and anticipates better than anybody.

His forehand is also exceptionally dangerous. I don't think he can hit as hard as Roddick does (who does?). But he can do so much with it. If Roddick's forehand is like granade launcher, Federer's forehand is like a sniper rifle.
 

raftermania

Banned
Man this is a hot topic!!!

My man Rafter knows a thing or two about volleying and is prolly playing golf as you read this.

But that's where their relationship stops, their personalities are near polar opposites.

I agree that PMac would make a good coach, they seem to get along well in Davis Cup.

With the Agassi comparisons, during this time in Agassi's career he went through an attention stage. I think Roddick should change his appearance to mess up his opponents mentally.

E.g. start wearing denim tennis shorts, grow a really big mullet and get that camo shirt back on. Make sure it feature neon colours so he can distract players at net.

0057gallery.jpg


You're in an identity crisis Andy... Discover your new identity and embrace it.
 

NoBadMojo

G.O.A.T.
the only thing that is bleached in that pic is the wig.......he's lookin like dan'l boone w. a coonskin cap.....eeeeeeeehya! pretty hard to put the trucker on top of that......maybe roddick could rig something up w. the agsssi hair and one of those chick visors that kind of clip on to your head? it could have the tinted green brim as well to complete the look
 

AndrewD

Legend
It might be a slightly left of centre idea but, now that Todd Martin has retired, I think Roddick could do a lot worse than enlist his help.

No, he was never a champion but he got the most out of his game, knew his way in to the net, was a big guy like Roddick and played a more sedate (although still 'big' compared to others) version of what Roddick's game could be -allcourt not 'hit and hope'.

Different personalities definately, but that could make for a more agreeable relationship. If nothing else, it couldn't hurt to play a bit of Stateside doubles with him. Could it?
 

Marius_Hancu

Talk Tennis Guru
AndrewD said:
It might be a slightly left of centre idea but, now that Todd Martin has retired, I think Roddick could do a lot worse than enlist his help.

I think he would be better than PatMac. But both seem to me to be too polite to say things which hurt, but move you forward.

Perhaps Roche (engaged by Federer in some capacity already?). Anyway, wouldn't be surprised if it were an Aussie, they most of all have a great work ethic and know how to volley:))
 

jings

Professional
I think you've collectively worked out why Roddick doesn't play nearer the baseline - his mechanics aren't great and needs the extra blink of an eye to set up, physically it is harder too, requiring a different sort of fitness. Roddick per se is not unfit, but his foot speed/ lightness of movement is behind others and that's where he comes up short (foot speed particularly useful when volleying of course). I think also his serve does tire in longer matches, but it depends if he's in with a shout. It was less penetrative towards the end of the Wimbledon final, but I can recall him still banging it down against El Ayanoui (sp?) at the Aussie at 43-42 in the fifth set after 4 1/2 days on court.

On balance this seems an odd move by Roddick, as Gilbert and he have a pretty good win ratio and he was advancing his game - certainly his back hand has become a better shot, not the finished article and he's trying to take advantage of his big serve by shortening points, again he's not finished with that either. This is what Gilbert is alluding to in his statement imo. Maybe he has a cunning plan, but I think change at this stage for Roddick is not as conducive as stability. Coupled with the rumours hereabouts regarding equipment and clothing change, and you have to wonder if young Andy isn't throwing the baby out with the bath water. My 2c.
 

Kobble

Hall of Fame
I still say Muster. You can't beat the Moo man for motivation, and the guy might get in the head Roddick's opponents. In addition, he could teach(or supply) Roddick his secret for beating players 6-0 in the fifth set on red clay. The only down side is that Muster may hit on his girlfriend while he is out playing.
 

NoBadMojo

G.O.A.T.
again....doesnt matter who is the coach of roddick is....if roddick can not volley by now, he'll never be able to volley well altho he can certainly improve a bit and maybe learn to volley as well as say lendl, and even roche who has one of the best volleys of all time cant give him a volley..mechanically and technically the volley is <by far> the easiest stroke to learn and teach <you can use one grip, the swing path is shorter and there are far fewer components than say learning to serve>...but if you aint got the hands or the hand/eye, feel, an explosive fast twitch first step,good ball instincts, creative w. spins and angles touch<if you aint a real athlete>, you are NEVER going to be a good volleyer. conversely, almost anyone can learn to hit groundstrokes pretty well..also even the best volleyers are staying back more because it has become increasingly more difficult for even the good voleyers to voley...fed used to s.v much more earlier in his career...the risk reward is now too skewed against being at net much the way the game is these days IMO....people seem to rip henman alot, but i think it is amazing how much he has been able to accomplish being a serve/volley warrior out there these days..in the old days you had to play flawlessly and beprepared to be passed over and over again to be succesful at s.v..now it just doesnt pay to other than to just mix things up (w a couple exceptions of course)
 

Phil

Hall of Fame
If it ain't broke, don't fix it...Roddick reached #1 last year and won a slam. He won 70+ matches THIS year. What, exactly, is he looking for? He MAY have achieved all this with another coach, but I doubt it. If there was a personality conflict between the two, then of course, there HAD to be a change, regardless of the success of the partnership. I don't think anyone outside of Roddick's circle know the full story on this move. Yet.

But barring the personality issue, I can't imagine what Roddick hopes to acomplish by replacing Gilbert. NO coach is going to provide him with the magic needed to beat Federer-odds are he WILL beat him, eventually, but it's certainly not going to be on a very regular basis, and probably not in the bigger matches. And I don't understand this obsession with volleying...who said coming to the net is even going to be EFFECTIVE against Federer, who can pass with the best of them? A Sampras or an Edberg-type player might have better luck against Fed, but those guys were in another class. They are who they were, and Andy is who he is-you can't paint stripes on a dog and expect it to start roaring like a tiger.

Roddick has to build on the foundation he already has, and NOT try to reshape his game into something he just isn't. Adding some trips to the net and IMPROVING the vollies, sure, but continue to DEPEND on the bread and butter serve and forehand that got him where he is, and improve the baseline game. Of course, all of us hackers can sit back at our computers speculating and offering this #2-ranked PROFESSIONAL our advice, but in the end, only HE's gonna know what's good for HIM.
 
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