To those who say Roger was mediocre in the Final:

[clayman2000]

There is no doubt that Roger Federer did not play the best match of his life. To expect him to play like it is 05 and 06 all over again is a little crazy. But to call Federer's play today average or mediocre, or alright is just crazy.

For me, those amazing unthinkablae shots that Roger has made, i call Magic. Magic to me was his MP save in the 08 final 4th set breaker, or his countless overhead return winners or his touch volleys.

For me, the magic was there today, and here is why. 2nd set tiebreak, Roddick is up 5 - 1, Fed serves and Roddick hits a ball by Roger's feet, and he half-volleys it for a winner. To me no one on tour besides him would have done that. Then serving at 3-6, he hits two straight aces. Keep in mind that up to that point he had not hit two aces in a row. Next scenario, Roger serving 5-3 (i think) in the 3rd set breaker. He had been up 2 minibreaks, but just lost 1. Then Roddick hits a great return, and Roger gets it back and wins the point. These are not crazy shots, but to pull it off at that stage, and considering he hade not made it before in the match was magic to me. Finally, magic was shown in the 5th set. I do no remember the games, but Roddick had two BP's in sudden death. Rog hits an ace. Now 30-40. At this stage im pretty sure everyone whos seen Roger play knows what he is going to do. I even called it. Flat serve out wide going for an ace. He pulls it off. Deuce. Fed serves an unreturnable. Thats is Magic to me.

To me these are just a couple examples of why Roger was not mediocre today

 

[stanfordtennis alum]

he was not able to get any rhythm of roddicks serve.. he did not play bad, roddick made him play bad

 

[zagor]

Of course he wasn't mediocre,he would have lost if he was given how amazing Roddick was playing but a lot of people on this forum are just clueless.

 

[kanamit]

The reason this was so close is that Roddick played the match of his life. And on top of it, Fed was unable to read Roddick's serve for the first time ever. And Fed still beat him. I would say that this just confirms what a bad match up Fed is for Roddick.

 

[All-rounder]

he was not able to get any rhythm of roddicks serve.. he did not play bad, roddick made him play bad

I agree with this everytime Federer had the momentum on his side roddick would just hit an ace and federer would have to regroup again and again which is why Federer used a hawkeye challenge on the roddick serve just to interrupt his rhythm

 

[clayman2000]

Of course he wasn't mediocre,he would have lost if he was given how amazing Roddick was playing but a lot of people on this forum are just clueless.

I know.... i just hate how some (less and less each day) are still calling Roddick a fluke. Its like the Roddick haters say: Oh he needed 5 sets to take out Hewitt. Hewitt suks now. Then when he beat Murray they said, o Murray was too passive and suks now. I was almost hoping that Roddick won just so that i could see and facepalm the haters saying Fed suks

 

[Tennis_Maestro]

Who cares.

Sign of a great player, is one that can win when not playing the best of their capabilities.

 

[All-rounder]

I know.... i just hate how some (less and less each day) are still calling Roddick a fluke. Its like the Roddick haters say: Oh he needed 5 sets to take out Hewitt. Hewitt suks now. Then when he beat Murray they said, o Murray was too passive and suks now. I was almost hoping that Roddick won just so that i could see and facepalm the haters saying Fed suks

Win or lose people will still be saying Federer sucks its a messed up world really

 

[raiden031]

Roddick would have beaten any other player out there (except maybe Nadal). He played phenomenal tennis for the equivalent of like 7 sets (5 setter ~ 3 sets). He made it very tough for Fed to do much against him. Fed played well since after all he hit 100 winners and 50 aces and still barely won the match. I think this type of performance is obviously more repeatable by Federer than Roddick, and thats why Fed has 15 major titles and Roddick has 1.

 

[TennisandMusic]

Of course he wasn't mediocre,he would have lost if he was given how amazing Roddick was playing but a lot of people on this forum are just clueless.

Roddick played anything but "amazing" today. He just ISN'T a "great" tennis player. I think referring to people who disagree as "clueless" is somewhat of a straw man argument. Why would one have to be clueless to think Roddick did many things extremely poorly? Trying to prop up Roddick is just trying to prop up Federer. They both played pretty badly.

Roddick is so slow and lacks any kind of real tennis instinct. The winners and aces Roger gets off him would never occur with the other top players. Why do you think Federer is able to hit so many of these almost every time they play? It's not because Federer "magically" raises his game. Roddick is just a slow moving clod.

 

[clayman2000]

Roddick played anything but "amazing" today. He just ISN'T a "great" tennis player. I think referring to people who disagree as "clueless" is somewhat of a straw man argument. Why would one have to be clueless to think Roddick did many things extremely poorly? Trying to prop up Roddick is just trying to prop up Federer. They both played pretty badly.

Roddick is so slow and lacks any kind of real tennis instinct. The winners and aces Roger gets off him would never occur with the other top players. Why do you think Federer is able to hit so many of these almost every time they play? It's not because Federer "magically" raises his game. Roddick is just a slow moving clod.

Tell me one thing Roddick did poorly, besides not getting a 1st serve when he needed it in the last game?

How many points did he win for scrambling?

Lacking tennis instinct? Did you see Roddick's touch half-volley drop shot in the 5th set. Not many players could do that. Did you see Roddick's rally in the 1st set which gave him set point. Where he beat Roger in a baseline rally by out maneuvering him. Also if you watches on NBC you might have remembered seeing the movement tracker where they showed Roddick moving Fed from side to side then hitting the dropper.. you lack a brain

 

[P_Agony]

Roddick played anything but "amazing" today. He just ISN'T a "great" tennis player. I think referring to people who disagree as "clueless" is somewhat of a straw man argument. Why would one have to be clueless to think Roddick did many things extremely poorly? Trying to prop up Roddick is just trying to prop up Federer. They both played pretty badly.

Roddick is so slow and lacks any kind of real tennis instinct. The winners and aces Roger gets off him would never occur with the other top players. Why do you think Federer is able to hit so many of these almost every time they play? It's not because Federer "magically" raises his game. Roddick is just a slow moving clod.

I'm sorry, but that is simply false. And I don't wish to offend you, but you sound a little bitter to me.

Roddick had his old forehand back, along with Safin's backhand today. His serve was awesome as usual, his net game was fantastic. His movement and touch were superb. Roddick has never played a better match IMO.

I think Roddick would have defeated anyone today, including Nadal. He already beat Murray in the semis and Djokoivc twice this year, so I think you should give a bit credit. Roddick is really the #3 player in the world today, his GS results this year are far superior to those of Murray and Djokovic, and saying he isn't a GREAT player is basically saying Murray and Djokovic are even worse.

Fed didn't play 100%, but he didn't play 60% either. He played 70%-90% and the only difference between him and Roddick was that Fed was able to step it up when Andy couldn't.

 

[koopa_troopa]

The one thing that suprised me was that Roddick appeared to be winning a lot of the long rallies. I would expect that once Federer could get a decent return on Roddick's serve, he would win the point. But Roddick was able to take control of the rallies too.

 

[drake]

There is no doubt that Roger Federer did not play the best match of his life. To expect him to play like it is 05 and 06 all over again is a little crazy. But to call Federer's play today average or mediocre, or alright is just crazy.

For me, those amazing unthinkablae shots that Roger has made, i call Magic. Magic to me was his MP save in the 08 final 4th set breaker, or his countless overhead return winners or his touch volleys.

For me, the magic was there today, and here is why. 2nd set tiebreak, Roddick is up 5 - 1, Fed serves and Roddick hits a ball by Roger's feet, and he half-volleys it for a winner. To me no one on tour besides him would have done that. Then serving at 3-6, he hits two straight aces. Keep in mind that up to that point he had not hit two aces in a row. Next scenario, Roger serving 5-3 (i think) in the 3rd set breaker. He had been up 2 minibreaks, but just lost 1. Then Roddick hits a great return, and Roger gets it back and wins the point. These are not crazy shots, but to pull it off at that stage, and considering he hade not made it before in the match was magic to me. Finally, magic was shown in the 5th set. I do no remember the games, but Roddick had two BP's in sudden death. Rog hits an ace. Now 30-40. At this stage im pretty sure everyone whos seen Roger play knows what he is going to do. I even called it. Flat serve out wide going for an ace. He pulls it off. Deuce. Fed serves an unreturnable. Thats is Magic to me.

To me these are just a couple examples of why Roger was not mediocre today

How can you remember this? Do you jot down notes during the match so you can post on TT?

 

[BallzofSkill]

The one thing that suprised me was that Roddick appeared to be winning a lot of the long rallies. I would expect that once Federer could get a decent return on Roddick's serve, he would win the point. But Roddick was able to take control of the rallies too.

yeah, this is one of the reasons i thought federer didn't play that well. seemed like andy took the offense in many of the rallies, something that almost never happens in federer/roddick matches.

roger also came to net at the weirdest times. and the fact that roger could not break roddick except in the 5th, when does that ever happen? i know roger is crappy when it comes to converting break points but this is roddick we're talking about.

for everyone talking up roddick's game, i also see a degeneration in federer's game.

 

[clayman2000]

How can you remember this? Do you jot down notes during the match so you can post on TT?

I remember becuase Roddick is my favourite player ever. These were his big chances, and Fed stepped it up.

 

[drake]

I remember becuase Roddick is my favourite player ever. These were his big chances, and Fed stepped it up.

It was a tough break, Andy played great.

 

[BounceHitBounceHit]

he was not able to get any rhythm of roddicks serve.. he did not play bad, roddick made him play bad

Agreed! So long as a guy is serving that HUGE it's more about him than you. You just have to hang in there and hope for a chance. That's precisely what FedEx did, along with being VERY stingy on his own serve. BHBH

 

[BounceHitBounceHit]

It was a tough break, Andy played great.

I agree. Roddick played a great match. Kudos to Andy for all the hard work he's obviously put in to improve so much. BHBH

 

[FedFan_2009]

Only an idiot would say Roger was mediocre in the final. He wasn't JesusFed, but frak it who cares?

 

[TsongaEatingAPineappleLol]

Prefect examples and well done explaining them. Although Fed was not mediocre, he wasn't King Midas either.

 

[FedFan_2009]

Prefect examples and well done explaining them. Although Fed was not mediocre, he wasn't King Midas either.

At the end of the day he's holding the trophy - who cares if he didn't play A+ level to get there. I'd like to see anyone else do better in that scenario.

 

[BounceHitBounceHit]

The reason this was so close is that Roddick played the match of his life. And on top of it, Fed was unable to read Roddick's serve for the first time ever. And Fed still beat him. I would say that this just confirms what a bad match up Fed is for Roddick.

Agreed. It's a really bad match up for Roddick. BHBH

 

[NamRanger]

Prefect examples and well done explaining them. Although Fed was not mediocre, he wasn't King Midas either.

He wasn't King Midas because Roddick didn't let him dictate play. Roddick took the initiative before Federer did. Anyone else today most likely loses in straight sets (yes including Nadal) the way Federer was serving today. The only reason why Roddick even snuck two breaks was because Federer had missed opportunities on Roddick's serve to break him, and that translated to some poor service games.

 

[GameSampras]

At the end of the day he's holding the trophy - who cares if he didn't play A+ level to get there. I'd like to see anyone else do better in that scenario.

He almost hand gift wrapped those first 2 sets to Roddick on a silver platter. If he would have done that to Rafa the match would have been over the way he was playing. Fed did what he needed to to win though for sure.

 

[icedevil0289]

He almost hand gift wrapped those first 2 sets to Roddick on a silver platter. If he would have done that to Rafa the match would have been over the way he was playing. Fed did what he needed to to win though for sure.

 

[clayman2000]

He almost hand gift wrapped those first 2 sets to Roddick on a silver platter. If he would have done that to Rafa the match would have been over the way he was playing. Fed did what he needed to to win though for sure.

Im pretty sure he didnt gift wrap the 1st set to Roddick.... he had 4 BP's at 5 all. And lost only 7 points on serve

In the 2nd Roddick earned his minibreaks in the tiebreak with winners if you remember, of course he did donate them back, but then down 3-6 serving, he serves 2 aces.... pretty clutch for a fluke right

 

[Deleted member 25923]

His returns today were mediocre, really mediocre. The serve was on another level.

I think my cousin said it best: Federer played like roddick, and roddick played like Federer.

 

[clayman2000]

His returns today were mediocre, really mediocre. The serve was on another level.

I think my cousin said it best: Federer played like roddick, and roddick played like Federer.

Except at 2-6 in the 2nd set tiebreak, and 14-15 in the 5th set :evil:

 

[dh003i]

Of course he wasn't mediocre,he would have lost if he was given how amazing Roddick was playing but a lot of people on this forum are just clueless.

Yea, I agree with that. Roddick was surely playing at or near the top of his game. But it is important to note that he wasn't just zoning, red-lining. He has improved his back-hand, touch, and volleys considerably. He has improved his fitness considerably, and was getting to all kinds of balls. He was pulling off shots and makings gets we're only used to Nadal and Federer doing.

So yea, lets not take credit away from Roddick. Not only did he play a great match, he played an all-time great match.

Federer just played ever so slightly better in the final key moments.

 

[flying24]

Stupid trolling thread. Roger was serving unbelievably and while he wasnt playing his best outside of the serve Roddick's agressive and very intelligent performance had alot to do with that, and Roger still managed a ton of non serving winners to go with his 50 aces. I doubt anyone else on tour today would have even gotten a set off either today, especialy as Roddick played an even better match today than the great performance he put on to take out Murray in 4 sets.

 

[dh003i]

Stupid trolling thread. Roger was serving unbelievably and while he wasnt playing his best outside of the serve Roddick's agressive and very intelligent performance had alot to do with that, and Roger still managed a ton of non serving winners to go with his 50 aces. I doubt anyone else on tour today would have even gotten a set off either today, especialy as Roddick played an even better match today than the great performance he put on to take out Murray in 4 sets.

Yea, Federer had like over 100 winners, about half of which weren't on serve. And I believe each had more than 2x as many winners as errors.

It was a very high-quality match.

 

[clayman2000]

Yea, Federer had like over 100 winners, about half of which weren't on serve. And I believe each had more than 2x as many winners as errors.

It was a very high-quality match.

Ya..... but you have to remember both were returning balls very short, if in play at all, probably 90% of Roddickhs FH winners were put aways

 

[beernutz]

Roddick played anything but "amazing" today. He just ISN'T a "great" tennis player. I think referring to people who disagree as "clueless" is somewhat of a straw man argument. Why would one have to be clueless to think Roddick did many things extremely poorly? Trying to prop up Roddick is just trying to prop up Federer. They both played pretty badly.

Roddick is so slow and lacks any kind of real tennis instinct. The winners and aces Roger gets off him would never occur with the other top players. Why do you think Federer is able to hit so many of these almost every time they play? It's not because Federer "magically" raises his game. Roddick is just a slow moving clod.

Jesus you are a tool. Grow up.

 

[Vermillion]

I liked how Fed just kept his cool in the fifth set while struggling to break Andy's serve. I admit that some of his ground game was shaky, but he stepped it up at the end. Even though Fed kept messing up his half-chances, he just stayed the course until the timing fell into place.

I've played a few serving matches in my days and it's hard to find a rhythm off the ground when you're struggling just to return serves. And for both of them do it at the biggest stage in the world... I cannot imagine what it would feel like. So all the credits to both players because it was a great match.

 

[BreakPoint]

Roddick played anything but "amazing" today. He just ISN'T a "great" tennis player. I think referring to people who disagree as "clueless" is somewhat of a straw man argument. Why would one have to be clueless to think Roddick did many things extremely poorly? Trying to prop up Roddick is just trying to prop up Federer. They both played pretty badly.

Roddick is so slow and lacks any kind of real tennis instinct. The winners and aces Roger gets off him would never occur with the other top players. Why do you think Federer is able to hit so many of these almost every time they play? It's not because Federer "magically" raises his game. Roddick is just a slow moving clod.

Apparently, he moved fast enough to beat Murray and to almost beat Federer. When was the last time Murray almost beat Federer in a Grand Slam?

 

[abmk]

Roddick played anything but "amazing" today. He just ISN'T a "great" tennis player. I think referring to people who disagree as "clueless" is somewhat of a straw man argument. Why would one have to be clueless to think Roddick did many things extremely poorly? Trying to prop up Roddick is just trying to prop up Federer. They both played pretty badly.

Roddick is so slow and lacks any kind of real tennis instinct. The winners and aces Roger gets off him would never occur with the other top players. Why do you think Federer is able to hit so many of these almost every time they play? It's not because Federer "magically" raises his game. Roddick is just a slow moving clod.

EPIC FAIL. Most clueless post of the decade ! Aren't you the same guy who said you know where exactly the ball will land when you hit it ?

 

[abmk]

His returning was really mediocore ( taking no credit away from andy who served really well ) . He was ok in the rallies ( he could've played better, but some of the credit for this must go to andy ) and served incredible . That's about it IMO

 

[Tennis_Bum]

There is no doubt that Roger Federer did not play the best match of his life. To expect him to play like it is 05 and 06 all over again is a little crazy. But to call Federer's play today average or mediocre, or alright is just crazy.

For me, those amazing unthinkablae shots that Roger has made, i call Magic. Magic to me was his MP save in the 08 final 4th set breaker, or his countless overhead return winners or his touch volleys.

For me, the magic was there today, and here is why. 2nd set tiebreak, Roddick is up 5 - 1, Fed serves and Roddick hits a ball by Roger's feet, and he half-volleys it for a winner. To me no one on tour besides him would have done that. Then serving at 3-6, he hits two straight aces. Keep in mind that up to that point he had not hit two aces in a row. Next scenario, Roger serving 5-3 (i think) in the 3rd set breaker. He had been up 2 minibreaks, but just lost 1. Then Roddick hits a great return, and Roger gets it back and wins the point. These are not crazy shots, but to pull it off at that stage, and considering he hade not made it before in the match was magic to me. Finally, magic was shown in the 5th set. I do no remember the games, but Roddick had two BP's in sudden death. Rog hits an ace. Now 30-40. At this stage im pretty sure everyone whos seen Roger play knows what he is going to do. I even called it. Flat serve out wide going for an ace. He pulls it off. Deuce. Fed serves an unreturnable. Thats is Magic to me.

To me these are just a couple examples of why Roger was not mediocre today

Well, you know the critics. They even criticize Fed for what he wears, even the commercial that he wasn't part of let alone his tennis. But honestly, Roddick didn't give Fed much of a chance to get into a groove today because Roddick mixed his serve well, very well and the body serve was something new to Fed. Fed struggled a lot with the body serve but of course, Fed always hanged in there long enough to create an opportunity. Yes, those points that you mentioned were amazing. But again the critics will see them differently, and I don't give a damn. Fed didn't play his superb tennis but played tough points well to give himself a chance to win.

Of course a little luck at 6-5 down in the 2nd set tiebreaker didn't hurt his chance at all.

 

[Mafia13]

I obviously haven't watched every match Roddick's ever played, but I can say that this is one of the best matches I've seen Roddick play. Come on, how often does Roddick usually come up with one running bh passing shot, and I remember he had 3 just in the first set. It was like he stole Safin's or Nalby's bh. He didn't have as many aces as fed yet he served equally well, he went for body serves in crucial moments and they worked very efectivly. IMO Roddick played one bad point, at 6:5 up in the second set tie-brake, and he didn't play up to his standards at 14:15, but can you actually blame the guy for that? He was out there on the court over 4 hours giving everything he had against a guy who has a 18:2 record against him and was constantly trailing fed in that fift set and he must have been exausted both phisicaly and mentaly. One bad game and one bad point in a match that consisted of over 70 games can hardly be called poor play. And I didn't see Roddick's movement as the reason of his loss today, it has always been solid yet it seemed to improve even more under Stefanki.

 

[NamRanger]

His returning was really mediocore ( taking no credit away from andy who served really well ) . He was ok in the rallies ( he could've played better, but some of the credit for this must go to andy ) and served incredible . That's about it IMO

A. Andy made Federer look average on the return. The way Andy was serving, I don't think anyone BUT Federer could have broken him today.


B. He was "ok" in the rallies because he couldn't hurt Roddick from either side, and A-Rod was actually bullying him around instead.


C. The only factor Federer was in control of most of the match was his serve, and he played lights out here.




I mean seriously. His return hasn't been amazing the whole tournament. It's not like he broke Soderling and Karlovic like 10 times. He only got one break off Soderling, and broke Karlovic what, 2-3 times? That's a total of 4 breaks at the most. Andy has a better serve than Soderling, and today backed it up with his huge forehand.

 

[urban]

Tennis is a game of patterns. The Roddick-Fedeer matchup is similar to the Ivanisevic-Sampras matchup at Wimbledon. Goran early on had a good record vs. Sampras, but after 1992 couldn't beat him on the big occasions. In some close matches like in 1995 and 1998, Goran looked the better player, but was beaten nevertheless. Sampras made the important points, he didn't win nicely, but he won. Roddick put up a great fight, he actually won more games overall, but simply couldn't convert his chances, when he was really in a winning position. If you are up 6-2 in a tiebreak and your best shot is your serve, and you gets no break against in more than 60 games, you should put at least one big serve in. Federer is mentally strong - against anybody, whose name isn't Nadal.

 

[abmk]

A. Andy made Federer look average on the return. The way Andy was serving, I don't think anyone BUT Federer could have broken him today.

andy served lights out AND made roger very uncomortable, agreed, no doubt. But roger could've returned better.

SO many slice BH returns ????? even those he wasn't getting right on many occasions ..... Why so less flat returns ?? Why didn't he try to change his return position by some margin or return more agressively ?? Make roddick think more ?

Wasn't this in his hands ?? I am not saying he would've broken rod many more times had he done so , but the probability to break would surely be more

Not taking any credit away from andy ......

B. He was "ok" in the rallies because he couldn't hurt Roddick from either side, and A-Rod was actually bullying him around instead.

There have been occasions when others have played clearly better in the rallies and fed's played much better . Case in point fed safin 2005 AO SF ......

Again, what I said was not to take any credit away from andy

C. The only factor Federer was in control of most of the match was his serve, and he played lights out here.

He did serve lights out

I mean seriously. His return hasn't been amazing the whole tournament. It's not like he broke Soderling and Karlovic like 10 times. He only got one break off Soderling, and broke Karlovic what, 2-3 times? That's a total of 4 breaks at the most. Andy has a better serve than Soderling, and today backed it up with his huge forehand.

I didn't see the sod match, but I did see the karlovic one and he didn't return bad at all , had some spectacular return winners

 

[NamRanger]

andy served lights out AND made roger very uncomortable, agreed, no doubt. But roger could've returned better.

SO many slice BH returns ????? even those he wasn't getting right on many occasions ..... Why so less flat returns ?? Why didn't he try to change his return position by some margin or return more agressively ?? Make roddick think more ?

Wasn't this in his hands ?? I am not saying he would've broken rod many more times had he done so , but the probability to break would surely be more

Not taking any credit away from andy ......



There have been occasions when others have played clearly better in the rallies and fed's played much better . Case in point fed safin 2005 AO SF ......

Again, what I said was not to take any credit away from andy



He did serve lights out



I didn't see the sod match, but I did see the karlovic one and he didn't return bad at all , had some spectacular return winners

The reason why he chipped so many returns was because that was the play that worked so well at the AO, where he chipped alot of returns short and forced Roddick into the net and passed him. This is Roger Federer we're talking about. He's not dumb. He was using a strategy that worked 18 times in the past. This time however, it didn't. He did try coming over the ball a few times, but when that happened A-Rod adjusted and started handcuffing Federer with body serves.




Rallies wise Federer's level was directly related to how Roddick was playing. He was doing as best he could. He barely had any rhythm for most of the match, and you expect this guy to hit 100 mph screamers from anywhere on the court. A-Rod was serving huge, ripping the ball at every opportunity. This wasn't like Federer was playing Nadal where he actually has alot more time then he thinks. A-Rod was CRUSHING the ball. You also have to remember how baked that freaking surface was. There was almost no grass near the baseline. It was pure sand/dirt basically. Bad bounces are going to happen, and I think that's why both guys struggled off the ground at times.

 

[cork_screw]

His serve was amazing, but he just played mediocre. I like fed, but I can be honest as well.

 

[mtommer]

he was not able to get any rhythm of roddicks serve.. he did not play bad, roddick made him play bad

Hear, hear! But don't take my word for it....take Federer's: "I was never able to control the match." and you can tell he was very surprised by that. Andy played one heck of a match.

 

[tricky]

I didn't see the sod match, but I did see the karlovic one and he didn't return bad at all , had some spectacular return winners

Federer himself commented that his return game was down for his overall Wimbledon play. Having said that, Roddick's service game was at such a high level for most of the past 2 weeks, and even Murray couldn't do much with it.

Actually if we watch the past 2 seasons, Federer (like most of the tour) HAS struggled with Roddick's service game. However, it was always Roddick's relatively sloppy approach game or service-point construction that enabled Federer to make passing shots that would enable Federer to leverage control of the baseline during rallies. And in fact, it was often remarked "you know, if only Roddick could intelligently attack the net with that serve . . . "

I guess personally what I saw during the Wimbledon's Final was that very thing, a crisp, methodical, and fluid approach game that I didn't know he could ever have. Yes, the quality of his BH drive had improved, but the cause was always a movement issue (and not so indirectly a point construction issue) with his game anyway. Roddick is at his best when he plays a North-South game, but he didn't know how to integrate short court rallies while still playing that style of game. And that was related to his movement and anticipation, where to cut off the angles of the court and to finish quickly without relying on power. He has all that now.