I hope Roddick makes it through to the quarters; I like him as an ambassador for the sport. He’s whipsmart and witty in press conferences – and doesn’t take any crap. But assuming he makes it past his next opponent, he’s got to get through either Verdasco or Berdych, and they’re crackling so far.

I agree with Roddick that if Fed gets ahead with the early break against Isner, it’ll be very tough for the Georgian; however, if pushed to tiebreakers, I suppose anything is possible?

August 30th, 2007 at 6:20 pm

2007-08-30
AKA Maverick
One advice for Mr. Federer. Do not take your match with Isner to tie breaks. You will be treading dangerous grounds. Having said that, even with tie breaks the eventual winner would be Mr. Federer

August 30th, 2007 at 7:18 pm

you can bet your cotton socks that roddick is praying for a miracle that isner takes out federer.

i’ll be at the Open on wednesday next week when federer and hopefully roddick will be playing…i thought about bringing a banner that said “the gap is closing” but figured that might seem a bit spiteful.

in lieu of that, i’ll have a recording of ‘taps’ for the end of the match….

August 30th, 2007 at 10:32 pm

I think that banner would be pretty darn funny! Maybe Roddick can pull a pong or two on Federer if they meet up.

August 30th, 2007 at 11:06 pm

roddick said “the gap is closing” in earnest when he said it: he played pretty well against Fed at the US Open final last year, he almost beat Fed at the Masters, and he won the warm-up tournament – although not for points – before the Australian. So he was only expressing his thoughts honestly.

i think that banner would be rude.

August 31st, 2007 at 12:21 am

Roddick is an absolute jerk. He is a terrible ambassador for the sport. He might give a good interview, but his frequent profanities will quickly dissilude your opinion of him. On a different note, I think Isner might be able to take a set on Saturday, because as Maverick says–he’s almost unstoppable in tiebreaks. That being said even if Isner does pull of a miracle–for it will take nothing short of that–Roddick is not even close to playing up to the level of even a gimp Nadal. The future of American tennis has arrived, and it does not include Roddick.

August 31st, 2007 at 1:27 am

I disagree – he’s a good ambassador for the sport and a good-hearted philanthropist as well. he makes an effort to reach out to younger players on a regular basis too.

He’s not the best player, but he’s willing to keep working at it, which is something.

I agree he’s not the future of American tennis, but he’s willing to help usher in the new, by helping out both young and querrey and encouraging isner.

August 31st, 2007 at 2:13 am

Roddick was ‘the future of American tennis’ in 2001/2!!

Having attending a number of kids clinics and charity events that Roddick’s been involved in I’d have to agree with Jane that he’s a great ambassador for the sport.

Very generous with his time and, considering how antsy he always appears during matches, amazingly patient with the children.

August 31st, 2007 at 8:49 pm

Roddick is playing a great match today against Johanson, who is no slouch. When his serve and forehand are on, he can make nice use of the improvements Jimmy’s brought to the table – like the slice and, i think, the better movement.

I’m not saying he can take down the three top seeds – at least he’s not a favorite – but he is still a top tener when he plays like this. My opinion, anyhow.

September 1st, 2007 at 3:04 pm

If the future of US Tennis is a man on stilts … then I hope it never arrives. If its Young and Querrey …well at least the tennis might be watchable. Personally, I like the prospects for North American tennis … in a new play called Dancevic. It will be interesting to watch his progress in 2008.

September 1st, 2007 at 8:12 pm

Greg Ruzedski can’t see anyone touching Fed with possible exception of Roddick. (I’m not a fan of Ruzedski’s, but he has a good record on tips).

Every time anyone suggests Roddick might beat Federer, howls of laughter emanate from certain quarters – and – in view of the record, perhaps justifiably.

Even so, I always have this feeling that one of these days, Roddick’s going to do it. Something about his irrepresible personality, noone bounces back from defeats, even bad defeats, with such, I dunno, inexplicable verve. You’ve got to hand it to him.

And then the man does have weapons even if, mysteriously, he doesn’t always choose to use them.

Does anyone agree that he’s the one person who’s got a realistic (even if unlikely) chance of taking the man down?

I expect now Berdych will calmly sail through Roddick….

September 1st, 2007 at 8:35 pm

well..Berdych has a good chance to beat Roddick, But that will be a great match i guess. Anyway.. either of them against Fed will also be a tough match. Worth watchin.

September 1st, 2007 at 8:45 pm

It’s interesting that Federer never rules out Andy’s chances of winning against him, even though he has such a winning record against Roddick and pummeled him at the Australian Open. For instance, today, when asked about the “stilt-man’s” serve, Federer mentioned Andy’s as being one of the best. So Andy’s there in his mind as a contender – if not a particularly threatening one.

I think Jimmy is starting to encourage Andy to stick to his weapons and use the other stuff only when he needs it – before, like at the aforementioned Grand Slam, Andy tried to rush the net too much, where he’s not comfortable. So if he sticks to his strengths and just supplements those when he needs to, ya never know.

Johnny Mac thinks Roddick has another slam in him, and I would assume Connors believe too. Guess we’ll see how he does against Berdych – they’re 1-1 at the moment.

September 1st, 2007 at 9:55 pm