Roddick vs Zverev

[beltsman]

Now that Zverev has burst onto the scene, how does everyone compare him as a prospect to Roddick at a similar age and game/talent-wise? Roddick was 21 in 2003. Zverev is 21 in 2018.

Serve: Roddick was certainly the better server, despite being far shorter.
ROS: Zverev.
FH: 2003-04 Roddick had a much better FH, I'm not sure about 2005 and later "puffball" Roddick.
BH: Zverev, no question.
Slice: Roddick, I guess. Neither are great. Roddick developed a good slice in his later years.
Touch: Probably Zverev?
Net play: Roddick. He was a decent volleyer. (Note: I'm not including approach here).
Court sense: Zverev, I think. Roddick gets a big minus here for poor net approaches. Zverev seems to be intelligent with his positioning, except for playing too far back.
Movement: Roddick
Mentality: 2003 Roddick was a mental monster, but as the Fed losses piled up, he lost his swagger. Zverev has the swagger.

Overall, I would say 2003 Roddick (21 y/o) was a better prospect than 2018 Zverev (21 y/o). It will be interesting to see how Zverev develops. The big diference is Roddick had to deal with peak Federer and Nadal.

Results-wise, Roddick reached No. 1, won a slam, defeated early-peak Federer, and won back-to-back Masters. Zverev has a WTF and a few Masters, but poor slam results.

Thoughts?

 

[SuperSpinner]

Zverev could achieve a lot more unless one of his contemporaries like KK steps up.

 

[beltsman]

Zverev could achieve a lot more unless one of his contemporaries like KK steps up.

Yes indeed.

 

[Red Rick]

Roddick
Roddick
Roddick
Roddick
Roddick
Roddick
Roddick
Roddick


The only "talent" Zverev has over talent is his date of birth

 

[Red Rick]

For anyone who thinks Zverev is anywhere near Roddick in terms of ability to play tennis

 

[Red Rick]

Slice: Roddick, I guess. Neither are great. Roddick developed a good slice in his later years.
Touch: Probably Zverev?

What is wrong with you

 

[Doctor/Lawyer Red Devil]

Roddick was a decent player I guess. But Diamond Age is Diamond Age.

 

[robthai]

Zverev would dominate the current field if he had Roddick's 2003 forehand.

 

[Service Ace]

This thread is a joke

 

[Steve0904]

Let's wait until Zverev wins at least 1 slam. For what it's worth though, he'll probably luck out massively compared to Roddick in terms of the differences in competition.

As of now, Roddick is leagues above Zverev in the serve + FH department. Z has a better BH and defends better, but to nowhere near the same extent that Roddick has a better serve and FH in the comparison.

A lot of guys would've crushed the Djokovic and Federer that Zverev played. 21 year old Roddick certainly included.

 

[NatF]

Let's wait until Zverev wins at least 1 slam. For what it's worth though, he'll probably luck out massively compared to Roddick in terms of the differences in competition.

As of now, Roddick is leagues above Zverev in the serve + FH department. Z has a better BH and defends better, but to nowhere near the same extent that Roddick has a better serve and FH in the comparison.

A lot of guys would've crushed the Djokovic and Federer that Zverev played. 21 year old Roddick certainly included.

Better yet lets wait until he reaches a slam SF

 

[Roddick85]

Roddick is way above Zverev in the serve department, forehand as well (in his early days), I'd also give him the edge at the net cause up until now Zverev had no net game whatsoever. I don't think Zverev is more talented than Roddick was, but I do think he will achieve more than Roddick in his career. Roddick had to contend with Federer his entire career + early bloomers like Nadal/Djokovic and even Murray. Federer is arguably the GOAT, Nadal/Djokovic close behind. What I'm trying to get at here is Roddick had ATG/future GOATs that stood in his way most of his career, Federer being the one that made the most damage here as far as slam goes. When I look at the future, I don't see any emerging player that will potentially rewrite the record book, so this opens a lot more doors for Zverev. If Roddick had the same future competition as Zverev, he'd be #1 with a few Wimbledon/USO titles in his pocket IMO.

 

[nolefam_2024]

Zverev has too good a backhand. He can also rally with Djokovic and Federer along with big serve.

 

[JackSockIsTheBest]

Better yet lets wait until he reaches a slam SF

in like..... never!!!!

 

[Lew II]

H2H against once top5 players that both played (Big4, Ferrer, Berdych, Tsonga, Wawrinka, Del Potro, Cilic, Dimitrov, Raonic, Nishikori, Anderson, Robredo):

Zverev 30-30 (50%)
Roddick 45-64 (41.3%)

 

[Lew II]

The big diference is Roddick had to deal with peak Federer and Nadal.

When exactly did Roddick have to deal with peak Nadal? Since 2005 they met only once at Slams, at UO 2011 when Roddick was not a winning candidate anymore.