Many experts think so! But we got to go easy on Roddick, he did try his best, but he was facing an opponent that is playing excellent tennis and is at the peak of his career. I do not say awesome because I always think that no matter how good your opponent is playing, 30 to 40% of how good or how bad he plays depends on you.

Some of you will say, but Sergio, you must  be kidding Roger Federer is fantastic! I nod my head to that, but I go on to a short analysis of Roddick's play and find the 30 to 40% increase on his performance in order to win.

Andy is a big man and relatively slow in comparison to Roger, this means the quicker he hits the approach shot the less time he will have to get to the net in a favourable volleying position. In this match it meant getting passed 90% of the times because most of the time he barely made it to the service line or struggled to volleying from his shoe laces and getting passed.

What should Roddick have done then?
 
Simple, instead of charging blindly into a trap like General Custer once did, Roddick had to have been more relaxed and with clearer vision, therefore mixing up the attacks with medium pace deep low balls, hit short balls at the right time and the eventual drop shot when the occasions arose.

The reason for using low bouncing, deep medium pace attacks is very simple; while the ball travels,  no matter how fast Federer can be,  he can only strike the ball after the ball has bounced, and if the ball stays low and deep it will be difficult to lift it without risk.

In this video Roger Federer gives a classic example on how to attack the right way with the backhand slice.

For a relatively slow man like  Roddick this would have given him the chance and time to get closer to the net and perhaps finish the point. That task accomplished with success once or twice, than he should've used the other options to keep Roger guessing and off balance.

Mistake #2: Roddick did not use the slice once on the attack, instead he used the topspin which in 95% of the cases had too little bite on his shots, gave too much air time for Roger to get there, most attacks were not deep enough and bounced exactly into Federer's striking zone for picture perfect passing shots.

The slice, especially on the backhand side, is a great weapon.  Roddick had several opportunities at very important points to attack that way, but he chose to run around the backhand and attack with the forehand topspin either down the line or cross court, which lead to humiliating passing shots.

Here are some of the reasons why:

- I mentioned Andy is pretty slow moving, therefore the time he takes to run around Federer's short ball is time lost that goes in Roger's repositioning favour.

- By doing that, Andy will strike the ball at a much lower point.  As a result, he will have to impart more topspin on the ball (making it easier for Federer to pass).

- Because he strikes the ball later he is also less accurate by virtual loss of the angle of attack.

- Running around the backhand, places himself at the extreme left side of the court, no matter how he will attack, cross court or down the line, he is left with so much open court to cover that getting to a volley is turned into mission impossible.   On the other hand if he had attacked the ball directly using the shortest distance between him and the ball with the backhand slice down the line, he would have taken the ball earlier and at a higher point (better angle of attack [make the ball move away from his opponent]).  Also, he would have been earlier at the net (taken away time for Roger to reposition himself) get in further into the court and he would have been in a prime position to volley, not to mention that he would've been correctly placed at the net.

Mistake #3: Roddick ran systematically around the backhand at the baseline to hit the forehand. This means he was leaving more then 3 quarters of the court open for Federer to make him pay.  And pay he did!

You do not run around the backhand and put yourself out of position to hit a puffer ball!  If you do that you have to hit flatter penetrating shot that either will be a winner or a a power shot that will handcuff your opponent into the defence until you can hit the winner. Roddick, did not do either and it got to be so embarrassing that when he hit inside in, down the line, Roger would go cross court with the forehand and draw a mistake on a scrambling Andy.  If he went cross court inside out, Roger took a step into the ball and drove it for backhand winners with a smile; "Thank you for the opening A-Rod".

Mistake #4: Andy Roddick was, hyper-motivated, super concentrated and as tight as a bow ready to bust! Is this good? No!

In tennis you need to have a certain amount of positive tension, but you need to be relaxed as well and this for many reasons, but I am going to just focus on two:

- Relaxation - Mental, allows you to think better, more clearly, see and react faster, stay focused as well as easier problem- solving. (No panic, no fear, no blockades to overcome)

- Relaxation - Physical, allows you to move more fluid, to stroke the ball more efficiently and make the ball move faster, recover faster and save energy. (Anticipation, reactivity, effectiveness)

Mistake #5: Andy did not vary enough, stuck himself into a single mode of play and plan B or C did not exist.

In tennis variation is the name of the game. If you do not vary, if you do not mix up your shots, if you do not change what is not working into new tactics that work, you might as well just hit your head against a wall!

Finally, in all honesty, I have sympathy for Andy and I have no doubt he gave it his all and put his whole heart into it. He certainly deserved to win one set, but it  just wasn't enough! He could have done and he can do 30 to 40% better using his abilities in a different way.

Sergio Cruz

Your visit to our link sponsors is greatly appreciated, that is how this website will stay free for you.

ELECTROLYTES

VITAMINS

ENERGY BARS

	Enter your search terms Submit search form
	Web www.tenniscruz.com