Andy Roddick’s One Year Report Card Under Coach Connors plus What Happened to Indianapolis?
Posted by Dan Martin on 07.30.2007
This week Tursunov, Moya and Monaco Post Wins. Roddick has one year under Jimmy Connors’ Tutelage. Plus, I take a look at the decline and possible rise of Indianapolis.
Players of the Week:
Dmitry Tursunov took home the only hard court title of the week on the ATP tour. His 6-4, 7-5 over unheralded Frank Dancevic of Canada placed him into a tie for the U.S. Open Series Lead. The match was not as close as the score might indicate and Tursunov looks to be in good form for the rest of the hard court season. Dancevic's win over Andy Roddick and trip to his first ATP final also place him among the top performers of the week. The 23 year old has a nice serve and solid game. If he improves his net game and sharpens his first volley he might be one of the better fast court players in the world. Dancevic may have launched his career this week because he ought to get a wild card into Masters Series Canada and perhaps find direct entry into the U.S. Open.
Carlos Moya won his 5th title at Umag Croatia and his 20th overall career title. Moya is 30 years old and appeared to my mind to have played his last important tennis in 2004 when he finished in the top 8 for the 3rd consecutive year and 5th time overall. In 2004, Moya spearheaded a Davis Cup victory for Spain. In 2007, Moya has won a title, been runner-up at two events, reached the quarterfinals of the French Open and the semifinals of Masters Series Hamburg. Moya may not be a regular in the top 10, but he is clearly a top 20 player who can still win.
Juan Monaco won his third title of 2007 by winning the Austrian Open. Monaco is proving to be a true top 30 player and might be setting himself up for a big clay court season in 2008. Argentina has quietly become second to Spain at producing quality depth on the men's tour.
Andy Roddick's One Year Report Card
Roddick deserves a B or B+ for his year under Jimmy Connors. Roddick was floundering in the 52 weeks prior to Connors arrival on the scene. Roddick's results in the previous 52 weeks were highlighted by a round of 16 at the Australian Open and a runner-up finish in Cincinnati. In his 52 weeks under Connors, Roddick posted wins at Cincinnati and the Queen's Club along with a U.S. Open runner-up, Australian Open Semifinal and Wimbledon quarterfinal.
If there is cause for concern it is that Roddick's results have declined over the 52 weeks. Consider that in 2006 Roddick was runner-up in Indianapolis, won Cincinnati and then runner-up at the U.S. Open. Since then, his 2007 Australian Open and Wimbledon results have been positive, but not quite to the level of the 2006 U.S. Open. This week in Indianapolis Roddick lost in the semifinals as opposed to last year's runner-up finish. Nadal roughed Roddick up in the semifinals of Indian Wells on a hard court in California.
Can Roddick ever recover his 2003 form and challenge Federer and Nadal for the top spot in the game? At this point his results do not suggest a week in and week out ability to challenge. First of all, his clay court results pale compared to Federer or world #3 Novak Djokovic. Nadal's clay court results are not even in the same galaxy as Roddick's. Even if Roddick is not going to challenge for the top spot; if he does keep placing himself in the final 8 or final 4 of the non-clay court Grand Slams, he can potentially take home another Grand Slam title or two. If Roddick puts himself into the right positions, sooner or later things might go his way.
Roddick still has one of the best serves in men's tennis. His forehand can be lethal if he gets a short ball. Connors has Roddick hitting his backhand down the line more often and sneaking into the net. This forward thinking has helped Roddick. Still, Roddick's backhand and net game are still not strong. Connors has Roddick competing better and not getting as down after major losses. My best guess is that after his straight set losses to Federer in the finals of 2005 Wimbledon and 2005 Cincinnati Roddick found it easier to lose to lesser player rather than face another loss to Federer in a big situation. Connors has helped Roddick shed that mentality. I do wonder if players other than Federer and Nadal, players such as Djokovic, Gasquet, Berdych and Murray, start to beat Roddick regularly that the negativity of his pre-Connors days might return.
Can Indianapolis Come Back?
I am not knocking Dmitry Tursunov's victory. He is an excellent player. Indianapolis just celebrated its 20th year of hard court tennis. Boris Becker won the inaugural hard court event in 1988 by defeating John McEnroe 6-4, 6-2. Becker won the title again in 1990 and lost in the 1991 final to Pete Sampras. Sampras also took the title in 1992 and 1996. Jim Courier won the event in 1993 by defeating Boris Becker in the final. In 2000, Gustavo Kuerten, the reigning French Open champion, defeated Marat Safin roughly one month before Safin took the 2000 U.S. Open title.
In 2001, I attended the Indianapolis Championships. The semifinals consisted of Marat Safin, the defending U.S. Open champion, vs. Patrick Rafter the 1997 and 1998 U.S. Open Champion and Gustavo Kuerten, 3 time French Open Champion and world #1 vs. Goran Ivanesevic fresh off of his Wimbledon triumph. Rafter took the title in a rain soaked event that might be most remembered for Kuerten's injury. Guga has never recovered from his 2001 injuries.
The 2001 semifinalists comprised a final 4 worthy of any tournament. Recently, Indianapolis has lived off of Andy Roddick's strong showings. The event has failed to attract European players as it once did. U.S. hard court events are now competing with events in Croatia and Austria. The draws at these clay court events are deeper than the draw at Indianapolis. The Boris Beckers and Goran Ivanesevics of today's games do not come to North America until Masters Series Canada.
Maybe the European players seek to avoid the wear and tear of hard court tennis. My gut says they simply do not like being away from home from the end of Wimbledon through mid September. For Indianapolis to flourish today, it has to market itself to hard court specialists. Many players from Europe are better on faster surfaces than they are on clay. Indianapolis should market to those players that prize money and computer points are there for the taking. Most Australians will play Indianapolis prior to playing in Europe on clay. If Indianapolis could add Richard Gasquet and Thomas Berdych to a draw filled with U.S. born players such as Andy Roddick, James Blake and Sam Query, Indianapolis can reclaim its lost prestige. The U.S. born players will always accept the prize money and computer points that accompany a weak draw, but for tennis to flourish as it once did in Indiana, this event needs some top European players in the mix.*
* Tursunov is technically Russian, but has lived in California since he was 13 years old. Indianapolis needs European residents to make the trip as well.
