Andy Roddick won't win another big title

Andy Roddick has been USA's top tennis players for 7 years now, with small period in between where James Blake took over. He's won a major and came close to winning a few others. His serve is the biggest in the game. No other players can consistently server in the 130s all the time. However, based on the way he's playing and the way other players are playing, this chance of winning another big tile (not just Major) is very slim. There are a few reasons for this:
1. The serve will win many points but once the other player gets the serve in play, Roddick has a 50% chance of winning the point. Against top 20 players, the percentage is alot lower.
2. This forehand is a big liability. Roddick has a loopy forehand that has a lot of spin but not much power. Also, he tends to push the forehand instead of striking at it. Therefore, the other players have alot of time to get to the ball.
3. The backhand is not a weapon. The backhand is consistent but not a weapon. He cannot blow people off the court with the backhand. He can stay in the rally and wait for a mistake but can't set up a finishing blow.
4. The top 4 players have gotten way better than the rest of the pack. In order to win a title, Roddick would have to beat 2 top 4 players. He will need luck to win one and winning two would be almost impossible.
Roddick has two ways of beating the above odds. One, he has to capitalize on his serve. He needs to win more free points and finish points early. Practice on serve and volley and come to the net more. Second, he has to play more aggressive and take more chances. Since he will hold his serve most of the time, he has to attack at the first opportunity. Hit a big flat forehand, come in after it and put the ball away with a volley. If he applies the above, he might have a second wind to his career.

Roger Federer is not the greatest of all time

I am a Roger Federer fan and have been following his career since he started his amazing run five years ago. He has set many records will set many more before his career is over. However, to be considered the greatest, one has to beat the best during his life time. Even though Federer has amazing records against almost everyone, his dismal record against Rafael Nadal blemishes his great of all time status. Of their encounters, Nadal is 13-6 against Federer. That means Federer win less than one out of every three meeting. One can not be considered the greatest of all time when during the peak of one’s career can not find it in oneself to beat another player. Federer has lost five in a row to Nadal and who knows when (if) he will snap that streak. I do hope he will and that by the end of his career has a winning record against Nadal. But unless he changes his approach to playing Nadal, I see a slim chance of that happening.

How can Federer achieve the #1 ranking again?

The last four years have been great for Roger Federer, winning at least 2 Grand Slams each year. His winning percentage has exceeded those of the past and will not easily be matched by those in the future. However, the last year has shown a chip in the Federer's armor. He lost more matches than he did before. He lost matches that he normally would not lose and losing to players that no one thought he would lose to. What can be the cause of this? It could only be Nadal. In early 2004, Federer reached the Nasdaq Final in Miami. He encountered a relatively unknown player named Nadal. People thought it would be an easy win for him. However, the first two sets went to Nadal and the frustration showed on Federer's face. He digged in and was able to win easily in the fifth set. However, this set the tones for things to come. The coming French Open showed it. Nadal became the hottest player on clay coming into the French. He has won all the tune up events and people were saying that this tournament was between two players: Federer and Nadal. These two are to meet in the semifinal as everyone predicted. Federer came out with confidence and took the first set 6-1. Everyone thought Federer would take the match but only then to have Nadal come back and take the second set 6-1. It was the best of 3. Nadal won the next two sets to close out the match. Federer had chances in the match but squandered too many break chances to have any chances of winning. Federer continued to dominate on other surfaces while Nadal struggled. However, the clay was Nadal's surface. The next year saw Federer and Nadal meeting in the final. It was another close contest but Federer lost in 4 again, squandering many break chances along the way. The events carried out the next year and Federer lost again in 4. The matches took the confidence out of Federer on clay. It was as if he gave up the surface. 2008 was the worse showing for Federer against Nadal. Federer made the final for the third year in a row even though he had lost his title at the Australian Open. However, he lacked confidence when playing against Nadal in the final. The 2008 French Open final was the worse beating of his life, losing 1,2,0. How can the number one player lose by such a margin. The stats showed that he made 1 out of 17 break chances. Such a beating took its toll on Federer. They both made the Wimbledon final and his lack of confidence against Nadal showed again on his favorite surface. He lost the first two sets 6-4 and 6-4 and people were wondering about the changing of the guards. Nadal has been getting better each year on other surfaces while Federer seem to get worse on clay. Federer came back and won the third set in a tie-break. The fourth set also went to a tie-break. Nadal had two match points but nerve found him on the first point and he double-faulted. The second match point was erase by a wonderful Federer backhand. Federer ended up winning the four set. The momentum has changed and there's a feeling that Nadal would go away. The fifth set went to 7-7 and into the darkness of the night. Nadal claim a break and went on to win. Federer was heart broken. He lost Wimbledon but more than that, he lost his confidence against Nadal and the chip in the armour was getting larger. He lost early on the hard court events. People counted him out for the US Open but he ended up beating Murray in the final. It was a high note to an average year. The 2009 Australian Open saw another Federer and Nadal final. Nadal was playing great and Federer was matching him stroke by stroke. A lack of focus saw Federer lost the first set. He refocused and won the second. He had many chances to break to win the third but lacked focus and played defensive and let the third set go in a tie-break. He refocused and played great to win the fourth. However, lack of pressure and confidence found him again and he made to many unforced errors and lost easily in the fifth. Federer lost the match. However, the match showed that if Federer play a great match, there's no one that can match his skills. To our original question, how can Federer achive the #1 ranking again? Federer can do this by believing he is the best player in the world. He must forget about the past, play aggressive to win the big points, be composed in the big matches, accept that Nadal will always hit to his backhand, and step around the Nadal serve to the backhand to rip the forehand. Federer can beat anyone playing from the baseline and defensive. However, he can not do this against Nadal. He must be aggressive, and attack the Nadal forehand with his own forehand. By doing the above, Federer will win matches on grass and hard court. Believe and aggressiveness will bring him the French Open final.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Nadal Ousts Shaken Federer in 5 Sets in Australia (abcnews.go.com)
• Nadal Defeats a Tearful Federer in Australia (nytimes.com)