Close Match? No Way: Federer Demolishes Roddick
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Boy was I wrong on the Andy Roddick-Roger Federer tussle. I set the alarm extra early, and thanks to Roger I was only up an hour or so before I went back to sleep mid way thru the third set. After waking up not too long ago and seeing the final score, guess I didn’t miss much in the last few games.
So much for Andy Roddick keeping it close. Roger Federer simply blasted Roddick, and that’s putting it nicely. Really nicely. ADHEREL
I thought once Andy broke back in that first set things would settle in. Roger wasn’t playing great nor was Andy, but Roger seemed to be a bit more off racking up a few more errors than normal. Then around 4-4 things went south for Andy in a hurry as Roger decided enough was enough.
Wow.
Roger reels off what, 10 straight games (breakfast bagel included) and I’m back in bed. Amazing.
From 4-4, Roger played unbelievably well, in all areas especially his passing shots. It didn’t help that Andy for some reason decided coming to the net on sitter approaches was the answer. What the hell was he thinking? I watched Tsonga makes those passes, Safin make those passes, what, did he think Roger was going to miss?
I really felt that if Andy just stood back and rallied from the baseline that Roger would miss a few more than usual giving Andy the chance to keep it close and maybe, just maybe, pull it out in the end. Forget that.
And forget all that narrowing the gap B.S., which I admit the last few day or so I even started to buy into (even though I wrote in my Oz preview I didn’t believe it).
Yes, Connors has been a help to Roddick. But remember (and I certainly didn’t) Andy was on the way out in the first round if not for Tsonga gagging when serving for a two set lead. He then beats Gicquel – whatever, then an off-peak Safin who played too up-and-down. Next was Ancic, who had some chances but the Croat rarely scores a big Slam win, and gimmie win over his Fish buddy.
Meanwhile, Fed hadn’t dropped a set but hadn’t really looked sharp in wins over Youhzny, Djokovic and Robredo. But the last three were playing good during the tournament so Fed’s wins were in fact rather impressive, though most people, myself included, passed them off as inconsequential.
But I admit, I began to buy the Jimmy hype, the ESPN Pmac hype, the American bias hype, etc.
Roger sure didn’t buy that. And I’m guessing he was sick and tired of hearing all the garbage all week of how thanks to Jimmy Andy was closing in on Roger, and Fed went out and shut everyone up. Amazing, Roger. Hats off. Well done…
Now Roger’s well on his way to Slam #10, the only question is will he win it in straights, which if he does he would become the first player to win a Major w/o the loss of a set since Borg in 1980 (the French I think), and who his opponent will be. I’ll stick with Gonzo to play Fed, but I don’t think it really matters either way. The winner of Haas-Gonzo will be playing his first Slam final and most likely be overwhelmed by the occasion. That means a good chance for Rog getting a set up and a break up before either Gonzo or Haas know where the hell they are.
As for the women, early pick is Serena. I know I picked Sharapova at the start, but what the heck. It’s a tough match to pick but I think she’s a hungrier (and fatter!) than Maria for this title.
Of course I’ve been wrong, and I’ll be wrong again…
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