Going toe to toe w/ Djokovic.

Novak looks like he needs more condintioning. I hope Andy can keep it up!

142 degrees on the court! Both guys look like they have spent the better part of a week in a sauna!

That is crazy hot.

Last night some girl was hangin' with Venus until she practically collapsed and had to forfeit.

Roddick pulls of the upset 6-7 6-4 6-2 and then Djok retired down 2-1 in the 4th.

Holden, she was playing Serena. Venus lost in the 2nd round.

Good solid win for Andy. He really looks good out there. Gets a lot tougher from here on out, but after last season, he needed to shake things up to get moving again. His training certainly seemed to show yesterday as he seemed to be going strong at the end. May be one advantage of training in Texas.

Drysdale (I think that is the spelling) brought up some good points last night about staying hydrated. Agassi would drink something like a gallon of water 12 hours beforing having to endure a match like that. He said it is impossible to stay hydrated by just drinking out there while playing. You would cramp up and stop drinking water.

Djokovic looked awesome in that first set but just looked drained after that. I was switching back and forth between the match and "The Girl Next Door". Good God that chick is smoking hot.

djokovic has gotten a little soft. he's not the new guy anymore, he's never the underdog, and he's alienated the fans from pretty much everywhere but serbia. he needs a little bit of failure before he will decide to sack up and play to his potential again.

roddick needs to hope for another scorcher in the semis. if he can keep serving big, get to the net twice a game on his serve, and make fed beat him with the backhand pass, he has a shot. in the battle between my two favorite guys on the tour, i don't care who wins, i am just hoping for 5 sets.

So this will be Roddick's 18th match with Federer. Has he played anyone else this many times?

Fed gets a bad rap for 5 set matches because he does not play many of them. But the guy is supremely fit and can grind out a win if he has to. It is just not often that he needs it.

Roddick losing 15 pounds will help his confidence. Otherwise Fed is in his head BIG TIME. I recall a US Open match two years ago when Roddick first hired Connors and was "coming back". He played a wonderful match against Fed only to be DESTROYED. At one point Roddick hit a scorcher right at Fed and he calmly flicked it back right at Roddick's feet.

Nice to see Andy make it back to the semis of a Slam. I really like both Fed and him.I hope it's a good competitvie match with both players playing high quality tennis. If Roddick and Fed both come back strong this year, it will really be good for the sport.

I love seeing Andy back playing well, but I have a feeling that Fed is going to destroy him again. After Fed embarrassed Del Potro, who was one of the hottest players on the tour coming into the new year, it may be another disappointment for Roddick.

I honestly do not think Roddick played that great of a match, the heat just wore down djokovic until he could not go on. In the first set djokovic was moving roddick like a puppet and doing whatever he wanted with long rallies. Against Federer I think Roddick has to keep the points short, i.e. start running around his backhand to hit a forehand winner when his opponent hits a second serve.

quote:

---

In the first set djokovic was moving roddick like a puppet and doing whatever he wanted with long rallies.

---

yeah, kind of like how roddick was toying with djokovic on his service games doing whatever he wanted, hitting aces and coming in to finish off short balls.

quote:

---

start running around his backhand to hit a forehand winner when his opponent hits a second serve.

---

yeah, I am sure Fed wont figure this out. If he would just step into the ball on his backhand, he is fine. Pat McEnroe made this point last night, how he would get Djokovic on the defense, and then hit off his back foot. Roddick is notorious for this.

If he serves big and returns decent, he will have a chance. I think Fed will pick him apart, though.

At the top of his game,I think Fed is the best of all time. He should win but I hope Andy plays well and makes him earn it.

the joker (djocovic) has no heart and his game will always be suspect. Roddick will get drilled by Fedrer b/c Roddick doesn't have the the talent to play with the big dogs.

You do realize that, not long ago, roddick was the #1 player in the world, right?

for a 1/2 second, he's a player that can obviously beat a few players with his serve, but when he gets up against the big boys, it shows the lack of talent, beyond blasting a serve, that he has.

He's slow of foot, has a hit and miss forehand, and a weak backhand.

He looked pretty quick the other night. He has lost some weight.

Obviously, Roddick has some stuff to improve to consistently challenge the best guys, but almost immediately, his movement looks a lot better under Stefanki. Federer is the favorite. But it's tennis. It's a single elimination tournament. If Berdych can have Federer on the ropes, Roddick can beat him.

If you look at some of their past Grand Slam meetings, the result very well might have been different if a tie breaker went Roddick's way rather than Federer's.

Anyway, I look forward to not getting much sleep tonight in order to watch.

I agree with 83. Its nice to see Andy playing well. I know he is not the greatest player in the world, but I also know he is one heck of a player. I also know he has worked very hard, and maybe he will see positive results.
The year is just starting, so we will see. I
am thinking about texting him a way to get to this thread, so he can get a good laugh before tomorrow. He knows he needs all the good coaching he can get. lol.

yes, berdych got a good run at Fed, but then he plays Del Potro, a top 10 player, and he gets drummed.


Roddick will have to be totally on to win tonight, but it should still be a good match

Roddick will go down in straights.

the destruction has already begun. Roddick has no business being on the court with Fed.

you seem to know a whole lot about tennis, GOAT!!! who, in your opinion, DOES deserve to be on the court with fed?

with the beatdowns that Fed is giving, no one deserves to be on the court with him

I reallly did not feel that Andy played all that badly. I will grant you that I never felt that the outcome was really in doubt, but Fed was playing unbelievable tennis. He may be as good as we have seen in a long, long time. The fact that Andy is not as good as Fed makes me think of how guys on the pro golf tour must feel facing Tiger Woods. You can be a really great player, and maybe even beat him every now and then, but day in and day out nobody has been able to handle him. Still does not deminish in my mind the skills of the guys who are out there competing with him. Andy just happens to be playing at a time where there is a dominant player who is better than everyone else.

You could be one of the top 5 players of all time and still have your head handed to you by Fed when he's at the top of his game. Andt's played really well the tournament but Fed is just on a different level.

quote:

---

ho, in your opinion, DOES deserve to be on the court with fed?

---

Rafael Nadal

quote:

---

but day in and day out nobody has been able to handle him.

---

Rafael Nadal has been handling quite well.

My problem with Roddick is he's a below average player. His game is built on depending on a big serve, but that fails when he plays guys in the Top 10.

He's stubborn, arrogant, and instead of working to get better, he continues to think he can hit with the big boys behind the baseline. His forehand, he hits it hard, but doesn't do anything with it and his backhand is garbage.

He fired Jimbo Connors b/c Connors was trying to teach him how to win and get better.......something Roddick doesn't want to hear and doesn't want to work.

Instead he settles for bashing serves and making it to the 4th round or so, and then he usually loses in the qtrs. Luckily for him The Joker was injured and it was hot, if not he would've been destroyed like Fed used him last night.

how many things can you possibly get wrong in one post??

quote:

---

he's a below average player

---

he's the only player other than federer to finish the year top 10 in the world for the past 7 years

quote:

---

fails when he plays guys in the Top 10

---

he has wins over nadal, federer, djokovic, simon, murray, ancic, ljubicic, davydenko, and gonzales in the last 2 years (all either current top 10 or were when he played them)

quote:

---

He's stubborn

---

he's probably changed his backhand 5 times in the last 5 years, hardly unwilling to make changes in his game

quote:

---

arrogant

---

probaby the most self-deprecating guy on tour. have you ever seen one of his post-match interviews?

quote:

---

instead of working to get better

---

if you don't think his fitness is the most improved on tour then you aren't paying attention

quote:

---

He fired Jimbo Connors b/c Connors was trying to teach him how to win and get better

---

connors resigned so he could spend more time with his family

pwned

How many things can you "massage" to make it look like Roddick is a decent player?

quote:

---

he's the only player other than federer to finish the year top 10 in the world for the past 7 years

---

As I said in an earlier post, the guy is decent enough to get to the quarters b/c of his only strength, big serve, but when he plays against talent he fails. Finishing in the top 10 the past 7 years is b/c most of the top 10 fluctuates b/c of the European's being injured or playing a long clay court season.

quote:

---

fails when he plays guys in the Top 10

---

Okay, let me put it to you this way. He usually fails when he plays guys in the Top 10 and he always fails, except 1 U.S. Open, in the majors. My fault. It's kind of like when we beat the sips or sooners in football.......every dog has it's day.

quote:

---

he's probably changed his backhand 5 times in the last 5 years

---

He added a slice backhand under Jimmy Connors, he can't decide if he wants to use a 2 handed backhand or a slice backhand. I'm not sure if you play tennis, but how do you change your backhand 5 different times. My point being he can't fully commit to actually making changes to get him better. Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer in the world, he's not afraid to make changes to his swing, even if he regresses he's going to fully commit to the changes to make him better.

quote:

---

hardly unwilling to make changes in his game

---

I wouldn't call tweaking your backhand someone that makes changes to his game.

quote:

---

probaby the most self-deprecating guy on tour. have you ever seen one of his post-match interviews?

---

he cursed out a linesman and umpire in his last match and he always "dresses down" reporters after a match when he's had his **** destroyed.

quote:

---

if you don't think his fitness is the most improved on tour then you aren't paying attention

---

b/c he lost 15 pounds coming into this year, you think his fitness is most improved? Take a look at Fed, he lost 10 pounds and gained 5 of muscle. Take a look at Rafa, his stamina and game has improved as well.

quote:

---

connors resigned so he could spend more time with his family

---

wrong, Jimmy fired Andy. It's known on tour that Andy is not coachable, is stubborn and Jimmy had enough of the primadonna that Andy Roddick is.