Roddick on Connors: Do Not Dissect It, Just Enjoy It

Posted on August 29, 2006

Andy Roddick's coaching arrangement with Jimmy Connors, following on the heels of his brother John, Dean Goldfine, Brad Gilbert and Tarik Benhabiles, is apparently quite different from the rest.

So different, in fact, Roddick has trouble putting it into words.

"I don't know where to go with that," Roddick said when asked to describe the influence Connors has had on him. "It's pretty vague. I don't know if I can do much with that question. I mean, it's just nice to -- I just enjoy his presence. I'm excited every morning when I wake up to go try to learn new things. I've said it before, his passion for the game and for this process is huge. It's contagious."

Another thing that has been contagious is the fire Roddick has shown on court since pairing with Connors -- the screaming, the fist pumps, the glaring at opponents, the shouting to his support box -- all things that have been missing or muted over the last 12 months that saw a slide out of the Top 10 rankings.

The outward expression of enthusiasm is not something discussed between the two.

"We haven't talked about that once," said Roddick, who screamed "Now the Open has started!" after putting away an overhead during his opening-round win in Flushing Meadows. "Just felt it. I felt like, okay, well, now the Open's started. I'm getting up. I feel like I'm playing okay. You know, wasn't forced by any means. I was just excited to get off to a good start."

After the Open, Roddick will reportedly be without the services of Connors, at least in person, until and unless he qualifies for the year-end Masters Cup.

"He is a full-time coach, he just watches on TV sometimes," Roddick said. "I think he's more about preparation. You know, before Cincinnati he was with me for eight days in Austin. When it was time to go, he said, 'All right. Go put this on the court.' He watched every match on TV. We talked probably 30 minutes after the completion of each match there."

While Connors has taken over the coaching duties, brother John, Roddick says, is still an important part of Team Roddick.

"I don't do titles that well," Roddick said, asked to define his exact role, which could be best described as "travelling coach." "He's there. He's at practice every day. He sees what Jimmy and I are doing. I don't know if I'd be at this point without his help as well. He takes care of a lot of the odds and ends, and maybe is a little bit more familiar with the tour right now as far as players and that type of thing. I guess we're all a team."

In the end Roddick says that while Connors can boost his game with enthusiasm, a stern hand, and his years of experience, it is up to him to take the court and execute -- which he looks to do in his second-round US Open match against Danish qualifier Kristian Pless.

"Jimmy can't go out there and play for me," Roddick said. "That's what his career was for. That being said, he can bring a lot to the table as far as preparation and different ideas and maybe seeing the game through his eyes a little bit more. He knows a lot more about tennis than I did, and probably ever will. You can only get better from something like that."

Richard Vach, Tennis-X.com senior writer, is reporting live from the US Open this week and can currently be seen on The Tennis Channel's "Tennis Insiders: Super Insiders" episodes, and was recently awarded "Best Hard News" story for 2005 by the United States Tennis Writers Association. You can belittle him at rvach@tennis-x.com.