Across the Net 9.25.07: Two Down and Two to Go: Andy Roddick Closes in on another Career Goal
Posted by Dan Martin on 09.25.2007
Andy Roddick has made no secret about his desire to win a Davis Cup title for the U.S. Now he and his teammates are one win away from doing just that.
Players of the Week:
Agnes Szavay is an 18 year old to keep an eye on in 2008. The young Hungarian has steadily been climbing the rankings and made a huge comeback from 6-7, 1-5 down to defeat world #3 Jelena Jankovic 6-7, 7-5, 6-2. Winning 12 of the final 14 games against Jankovic is not easy. Szavay has one of the best backhands in women's tennis and could develop into a true threat to win major titles. The mental toughness she needed for that comeback will serve her well because such tenacity is sometimes lacking on the WTA tour.
The U.S. and Russian Davis Cup squads each clinched a spot in the 2007 finals. While no Cold War is going on, this should be an interesting final. Russia's Davis Cup Captain, Shamil Tarpischev, is a mad scientist of sorts, substituting lower ranked players for his top ranked talent at key moments. Unlike, Dr. Frankenstein, Tarpischev generally presses the right buttons for wins as he demonstrated in Russia's 2006 Davis Cup triumph. Shamil Tarpischev is also the Federation Cup Captain for Russia and looks to complete an odd sweep by coaching Russia to titles in each this year. From Alexander Volkov to Marat Safin, Russian players have been prone to random losses, disinterest and poor motivation over the years. However, Davis Cup and Federation Cup seem to bring out the best in Russia's tennis elite. Expect the U.S. to face a deep squad with many options. Marat Safin, world #3 Nikolay Davydenko, Mikhail Youzhny, Dmitry Tursunov and Igor Andreev all possess varied strengths and can each play well on hard and indoor courts. That means if the U.S. wins it will have to earn its title by beating Russia rather than setting up an impossible surface advantage. Grass is the only surface the U.S. has a clear advantage and unless they play in the tropics I cannot see a grass court being used in late November. I expect to see the U.S. select a fast indoor court to compliment Roddick's power game. If Roddick can win 2 singles matches, then that leaves world #7 James Blake and the top ranked doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan to win 1 out of 3 matches for the first U.S. Davis Cup title since 1995.
Roddick's Career Goals
Andy Roddick won the 2000 U.S. Open junior title and looked poised for a big career. As one looks back in 2007, it is clear Roddick has had a great career. Andy has won 23 titles, was ranked #1 in the world for 2003, and has played in 4 Grand Slam finals. Roddick arrived on the scene as Agassi and Sampras' careers were winding down. Many U.S. tennis fans tend to root for U.S. born players (I do not count myself among this group). Roddick inherited the mantle of top U.S. player from 2 of the top players of all time. Andy has carried the ball nicely by producing a lot of strong results over the years, but he has had to carry the mantle alone unlike Sampras, Agassi, Courier and Chang. James Blake's resurgence that began in 2005 gave Roddick a fellow top 10 player from the U.S. However, James Blake has reached 2 Grand Slam quarterfinals in his entire career whereas Roddick reached the Australian Open semifinal along with the Wimbledon and U.S. Open quarterfinals in 2007 alone. 6'9" John Isner ought to be a very tough out at any fast court Grand Slam event, but for now Andy Roddick is the lone U.S. contender for Grand Slam glory.
Being the only true U.S. threat for a Grand Slam title is lonely enough, but pursuing these titles in the era of Roger Federer is likely maddening for Roddick. Roddick has no real chance of winning the French Open, but his game translates well to the surfaces used in Melbourne, London and New York. Roddick won the 2003 U.S. Open for his only Grand Slam title to date. Consider the following. Andy Roddick has played well down under reaching the Australian Open semifinals in 2003, 2005, and 2007 along with a quarterfinal loss in 2004. Roddick has won 4 Queen's Club titles on grass. He also reached the Wimbledon finals in 2004 and 2005, the Wimbledon semifinals in 2003 and the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2007. In New York, Roddick has been a contender since 2001. He won the U.S. Open title in 2003, reached the final in 2006 and lost in the quarterfinal round in 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2007. Roddick's amazingly consistent results tally a 22-5 record at the Australian Open since 2003, a 23-5 record at Wimbledon since 2003 and a 21-4 record at the U.S. Open since 2003. Roddick has posted an 82.5% winning percentage at the 3 Grand Slams he can win since he entered the top echelon in tennis in 2003. In that same time period, Roddick has gone 0-6 record vs. Roger Federer at these 3 events. Roddick's 82.5% winning percentage pales compared to Federer's 96% winning percentage at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Australian Open since 2003.
Seeing that Federer is the cause of almost 50% of Roddick's faster court Grand Slam losses since 2003, it is easy to noticed frustration on Roddick's part. Going into the 2007 Australian Open semifinal, Roddick believed he has closed the gap with Federer only to lose 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 in less than 90 minutes. At the 2007 U.S. Open, Andy Roddick shored up his weaknesses by returning serve well, volleying well and hitting solid backhands. Roddick also served with great efficiency only to lose 7-6, 7-6, 6-2. Two Grand Slam showdowns vs. his #1 obstacle to glory, and Roddick can only note 6 sets lost to zero sets won.
Therefore, Davis Cup has taken on increasing importance to Andy Roddick. Andy stated early in his career that he wanted to win Wimbledon, win the U.S. Open, win the Davis Cup and attain the #1 ranking. In 2003, Roddick was half way there by capturing the U.S. Open title and finishing the year ranked #1. Winning Wimbledon is still a real possibility, but Roddick must contend not only with Federer, but also Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic on grass. Davis Cup is a different animal. Switzerland does not have a deep enough squad to contend year in and year out for the Davis Cup title. Spain has won the title twice, but Spanish fortunes are greatly enhanced when the Armada can play on clay. Serbia is also not deep enough for consistent runs at a Davis Cup title. Therefore, this career goal for Roddick is not blocked by the usual obstacles.
Oddly enough, Roddick who has been the lone standard bearer for U.S. Grand Slam hopes of his generation benefits from the play of the Bryan twins and James Blake. Each component of the U.S. team is solid enough to give Roddick a clearer path to Davis Cup glory than Federer, Nadal, or Djokovic. The lone hope for U.S. Grand Slam victories is a good bet for Davis Cup glory because he can rely on his teammates. Roddick was part of a Davis Cup runner-up team in 2004, but the final was contested in Spain on clay. Carlos Moya's stellar play along with a break through performance by an 18 year old Rafael Nadal doomed the U.S. team. In 2007, the U.S. faces a strong Russian team that defeated the U.S. in 2006 on clay, but the finals will be held in the U.S. on a surface other than clay. Roddick showed a lot of maturity in his quarterfinal loss to Federer at the U.S. Open. He played excellent tennis that sent the message, "I believe I can win more Grand Slam title, but if I cannot at least I know I failed to do so playing tennis the right way." If Roddick can play with that same maturity in the Davis Cup final, then I would expect him to lead his generation to their first Davis Cup title. That would leave 3 of Roddick's career goals met and may give him more peace of mind as he continues his lonely pursuit of Grand Slam glory.
** I must note that I am not huge fan of Davis Cup and see the competition as somewhat archaic. Tennis provides international competition in every event it stages. Also, many players gravitate to 3 or 4 hubs of junior tennis development and are not overly or easily identifiable with their home country. Maybe if Bollettieri products took on players trained in Barcelona we'd have a more truthful competition for tennis bragging rights.
