Thesis: Roddick needs "attitude" to win the big matches

[alienhamster]

Ya know, I'm kinda tired of people complaining about how much of an a-hole Andy is and how crappy his attitude is on court and blah blah blah. The fact remains that he plays his best tennis when he gets fired up. He plays less defensively in terms of court positioning, he hits his strokes with more authority and confidence, and he doesn't get as flat-footed or give up on points completely. Bottom line: he wins more matches when he's in his opponent's face more.

I agree that he could ditch the whining about the Chair's decision-making. Doesn't help his game at all and is just obnoxious.

But so many of his detractors act like he's cheering his opponents' errors and double faults a la Hewitt, and that just isn't the case. He's simply trying to own the court more by showing how much he wants to win each point.

 

[ACE of Hearts]

Did he really played that well today?His return game still sucks, he has always been an arse even before Connors took over!

 

[alienhamster]

Did he really played that well today?His return game still sucks, he has always been an arse even before Connors took over!

He was good in a lot of it. (Trying not to discuss results here.)

The point is, he has done a better job this summer of not losing big matches by playing too passive.

 

[skip1969]

you may be right, i can give him the benefit of the doubt. but a lot of what he does seems like fake, macho posturing to me. jimmy connors 'how to get the crowd pumped up and behind you 101' class. don't get me wrong, jimmy was my favorite player growing up. but when he did that sort of stuff, it seemed more genuine and less rehearsed. mcenroe, too. like they might have done the same thing in a match in some po-dunk town with only 12 spectators in the stands. i don't get that vibe from roddick. (though, what do i know)

and that little "too big" comment in the fourth set today . . . come on, now. youzhny is ranked what, #54? and the dude is blocking back your serve all match long . . . you manage to ace him for only the 12th time . . . and you gotta say THAT. that's the kind of punk-ass move that gets guys slapped around in dark alleys.

 

[Defcon]

When Jimbo and McEnroe did it, it seemed real. Vulgar, obscene and guaranteed to **** off opponents, but not immature. When Roddic pulls stunts like that, he comes across as a little punk who's trying to act tough like a man, and needs to be *****-slapped. He does it because he's on tv and to milk the crowd, not because he's letting out his emotions.

btw, its possible to win with grace as well. Look at Fed/Edberg/Younis/Sampras and many others. All this fake **** is not needed, unless thats who you really are.

 

[edberg505]

I hope Federer destroys Roddick.

 

[Boja]

I hope Federer destroys Roddick.

Same here, Roddick needs to be reminded why he's not the best. The attitude he displayed today is the reason why I don't like him.

I'm not sure if he needs this kind of attitude to win, I think it's the opposite. He gets the cocky attitude when he starts winning.

Fed hasn't been as good as he usually is, I just hope he'll play a great match tommorow and beat Roddick.

 

[tennus]

There are certain players who play much better when there is considerable emotion attached to their game. Hewitt for one, he's like chopped liver when he doesn't say a word. IMO Roddick also fits this mould. When he thinks the world is against him and he carries on, he seems to play much better. When he doen't seem to care and drifts through a match you might as well tear up your betting ticket. I for one hope he doesn't show too much respect for federer because then he'll have no hope. With a big crowd behind him the scene is set for Roddick to stand up and be counted but.........is he good enough ?

 

[RB]

I hope Andy gets fired up---gets an attitude--busts some big serves--crushes big forehands--cracks that new backhand down the line--And Stomps a hole in Federer!!!!--!!!

 

[tennismike33]

I am a bit unsure what all of you are talking about. If AR, and by the way, I am a neutral fan of AR, if he played other sports he would be called an intimidator in footbal, trash talker in basketball, and Roger Clemons in baseball.

I agree that tennis is not like other sports, BUT other tennis players in the past have used intimidation tactics before and becasue tennis is a 1-1 sport there is room for it. AR did not strut around at changeovers and he didn't stand at the net and pound his chest, I have seen these at high school matches. He was caught on TV talking to P MAC (I hate that name) and saying that he wasn't going to hit another f-hand, then he went out and just pounded a serve, I call that confidence.

Each of you are very passionate about AR, but get off his case, at least he isn't running around the court grunting and yelling on every shot, dang that is aggravating!!!!

 

[West Coast Ace]

Sorry, alien. What you admire many cringe at. Roddick comes across as a mix of a spoiled 14 yr old rich kid and a smug frat boy. That, coupled with his style of play - all power, no finesse - just turns people off. His whining during the Youzhny match, about alleged slow play, was sad and unwarranted - like something you'd see at a junior tournament.

He needs strategy and shots to win. Strategy as in how to get Fed out of his comfort level and shots as in return of serve and backhand.

 

[tennisdarren]

I hope Andy gets fired up---gets an attitude--busts some big serves--crushes big forehands--cracks that new backhand down the line--And Stomps a hole in Federer!!!!--!!!

... And walks it dry .....

 

[Backbored]

I saw his post match press conference last night and he said the match between him and Fed today WILL BE A WAR. I can’t wait see this one.

 

[crazylevity]

There are few things I hate more than a punk attitude. I hope Federer puts him in his place.

 

[Backbored]

I found the quote for this.

Andy

"I'm just going to go out and throw it all at him," Roddick said. "I'm going to go for it. Just play the way I have been."

"We've been simplifying," Roddick said. "If [Federer] plays too well, then he plays too well. But I'm not going to lay down. I'm going out there and try to win the U.S. Open. I just want to make it a war. I'm not going to overthink it."

 

[West Coast Ace]

Backbored, he pretty much said the same thing - I think he used 'kitchen sink' - after the 2nd Wimby final beatdown.

I've posted it in other threads but to quote Mike Tyson at his peak: "Everybody's got a plan - until they get hit."

 

[Backbored]

So I guess he keeps the same play book no matter the circumstances. But of course we shouldn’t expect any player to give away his strategy. But some verity of quotes would be nice.

 

[randomname]

I think the funny thing is that the posters on this board who bash the pros like andy and sharapova are bigger *****s than andy will ever be (people calling sharapova a dumbass because she messed up a little in her speech)

 

[Breaker]

At first I wanted Andy to be destroyed, might still, but I'm just looking for some good tennis, and if Andy needs the attitude to make it competitive then he can do anything he wants as long as it's within the rules.

 

[crazylevity]

I found the quote for this.

Andy

By this statement, it clearly shows that Roddick knows Federer's best is far beyond his reach. :mrgreen: And how it showed...

 

[West Coast Ace]

By this statement, it clearly shows that Roddick knows Federer's best is far beyond his reach. :mrgreen: And how it showed...

Agreed. Roddick can still improve his approaches, returns of serve, and volleying. But that still probably won't be enough against Fed. Today he only won the 2nd set because of a few lucky net cords and the obvious fact that Fed let up a little after the easy 1st set.

It will be interesting to see how Roddick can build on this relative to the rest of the ATP. And whether he'll keep putting the work in...

 

[superman1]

Roddick still has room for improvement, which is good. He does have the game to beat Federer (most of the players do), it's just a matter of keeping that level up for 2 hours.

And it's true, people bash Roddick for how he gets fired up and they say he's a jerk. And it's funny because Roddick hasn't gotten fired up at all for the past year, and look at his results. Then he starts it up again, and suddenly he's the 2nd best player in the world on hard courts. You can't please everyone, I guess. Everyone has their own demands, and if they are not met, then they hate you. But I really doubt Roddick gives a ****.

 

[West Coast Ace]

Everyone has their own demands, and if they are not met, then they hate you. But I really doubt Roddick gives a ****.

And we don't care that he doesn't care... my respect is mine to dole out as I see fit.

Being pumped is one thing and a little celebrating on a great point or set is fine - the cheesy sh*t he pulled in the Youzhny match is way over the line, hence the 'punk' accusations.

 

[alienhamster]

And we don't care that he doesn't care... my respect is mine to dole out as I see fit.

Being pumped is one thing and a little celebrating on a great point or set is fine - the cheesy sh*t he pulled in the Youzhny match is way over the line, hence the 'punk' accusations.

How did he seem today to you, West Coast? He didn't seem punk-like at all to me, even when he was playing well.

I still stand by the thread title, with some qualification: he came out flat in that first set, and it really gave a big edge to Fed in the overall arc of the match. However, he really tried to maintain that attitude in the fourth, but just couldn't sustain it b/c Fed is too damn good.

But you have to give him credit for fighting so hard in that fourth, even if he was playing stupid AGAIN on a lot of points. He seemed passionate and had his teeth into the match, without being offensive at all in my opinion.

 

[rommil]

Well Roddick would be cautious about not acting like a punk when he plays Roger because the odds are that Roddick is going to lose. Maybe he respects Roger that much or not to give Roger additional motivation to beat him.
I'm pretty sure that Andy doesn't give a **** about what we think. I am just wondering how he feels when he is exerting all this efforts and emotion on the court and he looks across the net and sees Roger who most of the time LOOKS unfazed.

 

[FEDEXP]

"Tude" is not enough.......

 

[rfprse]

Bottom line: he wins more matches when he's in his opponent's face more.
But so many of his detractors act like he's cheering his opponents' errors and double faults a la Hewitt, and that just isn't the case. He's simply trying to own the court more by showing how much he wants to win each point.

So, what is supposed to be the difference? I think a Hewitt fan would say the same: Hewitt's simply trying to own the court more by showing how much he wants to win each point.

 

[alienhamster]

So, what is supposed to be the difference? I think a Hewitt fan would say the same: Hewitt's simply trying to own the court more by showing how much he wants to win each point.

Hewitt's antics often cross into the jeering category, as if he wants to not only celebrate his good play but also rub it in his opponent's face when they make an error. When you "Come on!" a double fault or unforced error, it's just bad sportsmanship.

It might not be a difference for you, but it is for me.

 

[MaxT]

He played very well, the best since Wimbeldon. I now think he will improve, and good for him.

 

[rfprse]

Yeah, good effort from Roddick.

Hewitt's antics often cross into the jeering category, as if he wants to not only celebrate his good play but also rub it in his opponent's face when they make an error. When you "Come on!" a double fault or unforced error, it's just bad sportsmanship.

If you admit that the intention to own the court does not justify for bad sportsmanship,
why is it so hard for you to understand that the people who think the behaviors like saying to his opponent "too big for you" when he missed a return reveals the bad sportmanship of the player and that they don't appreciate such behaviors of the player?

It might not be a difference for you, but it is for me.

I guess that's why you can be a fan of Roddick. I don't think Roddick's free from pumping his fist or doing 'come on's on the opponent's unforced errors unless he's somewhat delusional to think that every error from his opponent is an error forced by him.
Actually, not many players, if any, are free from such behaviors. Of course, their fans would say, well, it was a hard fought point or it was a crucial game/point, or his just pumping himself up, securing his turf, etc.
Why don't we just say; it's ok for, let's say, Roddick (replace him with any player you'd like) because I like him (despite all that).

 

[arosen]

Ultimately, the only thing that matters is that Andy gets carried away by his theatrics and loses concentration at the crucial point in match. 3d set, serving at 5-6 to stay in it, he lost his focus. He did the same thing in his match 2 years ago agaist Joakim Johannsson. He lost focus under pressure, and he lost that match.

 

[callitout]

Most players just arent as placid as Roger on the court. Take Blake, Hewitt, Nadal...Really there is only one Roger.
I was figuratively screaming at my TV telling Blake not to get so happy when he hits winners and not to get so down when he makes errors. This seems to hurt his game.
There's a big differnece between guys who play emotionally and guys who get distracted. To me Hewitt and Nadal have good positive energy but rarely get down on themselves. While Roddick and Blake show much more ups and downs depending on how the match is going.

 

[West Coast Ace]

How did he seem today to you, West Coast?

rommil answered (very well) for me:

... when he plays Roger because the odds are that Roddick is going to lose. Maybe he respects Roger that much...

McEnroe always behaved at Wimby against Borg too.

I didn't like the 'running and jumping over the little fence' thing in the 3rd - he easily could have slowed down - just wanted to get a little attention: "look at me, I'm hustling!" - but not a huge deal. And the fake Jimbo fist pumps were laughable - felt sorry for him. It was going to take more than that to upset Fed.

 

[callitout]

Is the Davydenko approach really so much better. Just hang your head knock balls that look routine into the net, shake hands and collect your prize money and move on to play the Bucharest Open.
I dont love Andy or hate Davydenko, but if everyone were like Davydenko there'd be a 30 dollar brass trophy given to the winner of ATP events (because tennis would get a 0 rating on TV and have no sponsors--except maybe Russian beet companies.)

 

[alienhamster]

if everyone were like Davydenko there'd be a 30 dollar brass trophy given to the winner of ATP events (because tennis would get a 0 rating on TV and have no sponsors--except maybe Russian beet companies.)

HA!!! Thanks a lot. I just spilt borscht all over myself from laughing too hard there . . .

 

[alienhamster]

rommil answered (very well) for me:



McEnroe always behaved at Wimby against Borg too.

I didn't like the 'running and jumping over the little fence' thing in the 3rd - he easily could have slowed down - just wanted to get a little attention: "look at me, I'm hustling!" - but not a huge deal. And the fake Jimbo fist pumps were laughable - felt sorry for him. It was going to take more than that to upset Fed.

But this is part of why I posted this thread to begin with. Whether you like it or not, I think Roddick plays better when's fired up, crummy fist pumps or not. Fed-bot was in full form that first set, but Andy also played it like a sad little puppy and he got creamed.

Granted, he still tried to be fired up in the fourth, and he didn't play so bad. But Federer was in scary "control the point from any position of the court" mode. And NO one can do anything about that when Fed is on his game that much (unless Andy serves 100% or something to keep the rallies from happening as much as possible).

 

[rommil]

I was going to post about this too. If Roddick played with a calmer attitude, would it help him? I know that his fans like to see him fist pumping and yelling but I wonder if that eventually works against him. Roddick is an outwardly emotional player and I think he gets carried away easily (hence his behavior of getting into prolonged arguements with the umpire which is personally my primary dislike with him). Tennis is a game of momentum and it's hard to be prematurely celebrating because it can change in a heartbeat. Federer and most recently Blake have integrated in their game that focus, kind of hold it in until the end to be able to focus on the point and match at hand. You wonder because you hear about stories that Federer was a very temperamental player when he was younger. I still believe he has that in him, he just tries to control it. That is why you kind of see him very unfazed in a match then all of a sudden this emotion comes out of him when he wins.

 

[ubel]

Nah, he just needs to volley better. Put away putaways, make better judgement calls about when to approach, and hit better approach shots. Also needs to make that BH-DTL a more reliable weapon like when Safin used it against Federer in 2005 Australian Open SF which he won in 5. Also would do well to improve his return game a bit, as it's no real question as to whether he can hold his serve, but when was the last time you saw him really step up and punish an opponent throughout the entirey of a match on their second serves?

Just my 2¢

 

[Surecatch]

I like Andy and don't mind the 'tude but the cocky image took a hit when he challenged his own serve called good. I knew right then that game or no game, he probably didn't have the stuff to pull off a victory over Federer. That's a mental flaw that you aren't prepared to play a point that isn't a foot out or so.