"Get Wilson on the phone!"

Roddick vs. Djokovic, part 5.

This rivalry has become interesting of late due to the trash-talking that went down at last year's US Open. Djokovic won that one and proceeded to call out Andy afterward. They ran into each other again at the Australian Open in January, and Djokovic quit in the middle of the match. Now, they met again in the quarterfinals of Indian Wells.

Going into the match pundits declared Roddick the favorite, which surprised me. Yeah, Djokovic struggled in his lead-up matches, but I maintain that had Djokovic faced Roddick in sane conditions Down Under, he would have come out ahead. Well, Roddick just tuned the Djoker 6-3, 6-2 in just over an hour.

Roddick played efficient, tidy tennis, keeping his errors to a minimum and letting Djokovic litter up the stat sheet. 29 unforced errors is waaaaay too much. Djokovic recently switched to a new racket before the season and despite his protestations to the contrary, it seems he's still getting adjusted. Really, that switch made no sense at all. Djokovic won the Masters Cup last year, switched rackets in January as the defending Australian Open champion, and lost his mojo.

Anyway, onward and upward for Roddick. The Larry Stefanki experiment is a bona fide success now, and Roddick's win shook the loose tooth of the Top 4 even more, to the point where Djokovic is swinging in the wind. Against any prediction I might have made, Roddick has a good shot at being the one to fill the gap.

Oz Open Screws Djokovic

What's that? A little tough on the way down? Novak Djokovic had to retire against Andy Roddick last night, admitting defeat to a man who previously called him out for complaining about questionable ailments.

Djokovic started out on fire, but in the end couldn't match the heat of the court. ESPN's courtside thermometer measured the on-court temperature at an astounding 142 degrees (61 C). What should have been a thrilling quarterfinal turned into an ugly retirement as Djokovic quit trailing 7-6(3) 4-6 2-6 1-2. Why didn't they close the roof? How much hotter did it need to get before the excessive heat policy kicked in?

The Australian Open Extreme Heat Policy (EHP) will be applied at the Referee’s discretion and may be altered at any time.

At the Referee’s discretion, when the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature only (WBGT) is equal to or above the pre determined threshold, the Referee may suspend the commencement of any further matches on outside courts.

Any matches currently in progress will continue until the end of the current set. At the completion of the set, play will be suspended.

Where play in any match commences outdoors (or with a roof open) and the WBGT temperature is equal to or exceeds the pre determined threshold, the match will continue until the completion of the set. At the end of the set a decision may be made by the Referee to close the roof for the remainder of the match and the following matches, when the EHP is still in effect.

A roof will only be closed because of extreme heat if a decision has been made by the Referee to suspend the completion or commencement of matches on the outdoor courts.

This is slightly unclear. It's left up to the discretion of the Chair Umpire, but it also states that there is a pre determined threshold. Surely 61 C is over that threshold? I couldn't find an answer on the website, but a report from '05 states that the policy goes into effect when the temperature is 35 C.

I'm going to call a spade a spade: Tennis Australia really screwed over Djokovic, the defending champion. You can make the argument that Djokovic wasn't fit enough, that the 15 lbs Andy lost enabled him to withstand the heat better, but I'm not buying it. Djokovic is a fit player, and we've seen him go the distance before. Yesterday he lasted only a set before his level plummeted.

Djokovic's previous match started after 11pm, and 4 sets later he finished off Baghdatis at 2:30am. By the time he finished post-match activities, press, cool down, etc, he didn't go to bed until 5:30am. There's just no way you can properly recover that quickly to play in the kind of extreme heat he faced Roddick in yesterday. Djokovic requested a night match against Roddick but was rejected (I think a night match would have only been fair). Federer is hugely popular Down Under so TV mandated that he play in the prime-time slot. The least Tennis Australia could have done was close the roof. Let it be noted that Djokovic did *not* make this same argument in his press conference, and instead chalked this up to not being as fit as Andy.

Listen, I'm no Djokovic apologist. And I give plenty of credit to Roddick for grinding Djokovic down. If Djokovic had to play me, for example, I'm pretty sure he would've been ok, even in the 140 weather. Roddick's new quickness allowed him to get to some very impressive drop-shots and send winners back over the net. At the end of the day though, this was less about tennis and more about survival, and I don't think Tennis Australia did right by Novak.

Love for the Worldwide Leader

What a weekend of tennis! It was a lot to take in, from the 5 setters with Gonzalez, Federer, and Verdasco, and I'm not sure where to start. Let's do a drive-by:

ESPN

Let me preface this by saying we've seen life without ESPN, and it isn't pretty. When ESPN dropped coverage of the Indian Wells and Key Biscayne tournaments last year, FSN "stepped up" with some horrible coverage and awful commentating (I'm looking at you, Justin Gimelstob and Barry Tompkins). So, welcome back ESPN, and please don't leave us!

The worldwide leader always seems to take some flak over the way they structure their tennis coverage. I was part of that chorus a few years ago when they would stick with the same match, even if it was a blow-out, in order to show Americans, rather than cutting to a more compelling match featuring foreigners. Worse, they would repeat the same match the next day in the Taped timeslot! This infuriated me, as they usually showed Williams sisters matches repeatedly. Federer had yet to turn into a living legend, and so wasn't a big TV draw yet.

ESPN wisely realized the short-sighted nature of this approach, and started giving viewers more Federer and Nadal lest they ascend as virtual unknowns. The coverage these days is excellent; it's not uncommon for a single camerman to set up camp in the bleachers of an outer court to bring in a live feed. This year we saw Delic take out Mathieu in a 5th set from this vantage point, as well as a 16 yr old Christina McHale succumbing to cramps. I don't know how many hours of coverage ESPN is doing, but it's a lot. Between them and Tennis Channel you can watch almost the entire tournament. I know there are complaints about the number of talking heads that ESPN employs, but I can accept even that this year. I watched a little bit of tennis with my friend Matt, a sports fan in general but not a tennis fan, and when the split-screen graphic showing 8 or 9 commentators came on he said, "Wow this is a big deal!". ESPN: Impressing upon casual viewers Grand Slam importance since 2008. Besides, I DVR all the matches and just fast-forward through that stuff anyway.

Along with the coverage, the quality of the feed is excellent. I don't know what the difference is between the two, but when I flip from Tennis Channel to ESPN it's like I feel my eyes relax. And it's not just visual - the audio is vastly superior. The acuity is so good you can pick up the courtside camera shutters as they snap shut right before players hit the ball, like an overzealous church not quite clapping on the beat: clip-cli-cli-clip-THWOCK! The Murray Verdasco match was satisfying just to hear the canonshot noise coming from Verdasco's forehand. At one point in the 4th set Fernando hit an overhead so hard it made a lightning-like crraaaack-BOOM! as the ball met his strings and the court in quick succession. Speaking of Verdasco...

Murray v. Verdasco

Good on ya, Verdasco. Much has been made of his offseason training regimen with Gil Reyes in Las Vegas. That physical work is significant, but just as important was the belief he gained by pulling out the deciding win in the Davis Cup final last year. I kept waiting for Fernando to get tight in the 4th and 5th sets and leave the match up for the taking. To his credit, Verdasco kept going for his shots, stepping up and erasing a breakpoint with a 130mph+ serve up the T.

The Mighty Fed

No 'thing' was happier about Federer's turnaround in the 3rd set than my couch, which I had been abusing for two sets as Berdych bullied my hero around the court. To me, Federer's movement looked off. He was misfiring badly on his forehand, and it looked like he wasn't even trying to run down Berdych's winners. Paul Annacone said Sampras' best attribute was that he never panicked, and Federer sure looked the same way against Berdych. I mistook the calm exterior for a sense of resignation, but he revealed his desire to win once the match turned and the fist-pumps and C'mon's started flowing. Federer cut down his errors and started forcing Tomas to hit one more ball each rally, and Tomas responded with 3 bricks so hard that they rebounded off the rim out to the 3 pt line. Federer's forehand misses are disconcerting though, and he'll have one match to get them worked out against Del Potro before he faces off against Roddick or Djokovic, where he'll absolutely need to be on top of his game.

Tonight

We've got a rematch of the US Open quarterfinals, with Roddick and Djokovic squaring off circa 11pm EST. Pays to be on the West Coast :) I'm really looking forward to this match, as we'll get to see where Roddick's game really is. He's had a Betty Crocker draw so far (easy bake), but he'll need his best stuff to beat Djokovic. Roddick will need to serve and return extremely well, as Djokovic outclasses him by more than a little in the backhand and movement categories. Let's see if slimming down really does mean moving up for Andy Roddick.

Australian Open Draw Released

Draws available here. Let's take a look at the paths of the Big 4, a few notables, and then I'll make my predictions.

1. Rafael Nadal
Nadal's got an easy first couple of rounds but could then meet Tommy "The Gun" Haas or "Hollywood" Tursunov in the 3rd round, followed by Jerkstore Hewitt or Gonzo. There are some challenges in his quarter, as Monfils and Gilles "My name is See-moan" Simon loom, but I find it hard to see Monfils replicating his feat from last week, although Wertheim apparently sees it differently.

2. Roger Federer
The early talk is of how tough Federer's draw is. Let's break this down. Federer starts with Andreas Seppi, Carlos Moya and then Safin in the 3rd round (potentially). Roger JUST beat Seppi and Moya easily in his last warmup tournament, and while Safin is a dangerous 3rd round, Federer has won 6 of the last 7 matches they've played. A rematch with Djokovic in the semis is likely, but Federer is lucky that Nadal, Simon, and Murray all are in the opposite half.

3. Novak Djokovic
The defending champion should open with two easy matches, but things step up in a hurry from there. He could meet Jarkko Nieminen in the 3rd round, something he'll be hoping to avoid since he just lost to the Finn yesterday. Baghdatis is also a dangerous floater in this quarter.

4. Andy Murray
Murray starts off with the veteran Andrei Pavel and could meet the rising Kei Nishikori in the 3rd round. I believe Nishikori is injured though, so most likely it'll be Jurgen Melzer, followed by Fernando "Tobasco" Verdasco, and either James Blake or Tsonga. Just to get to the semis! This is a brutal section of the draw, and the hardest quarter for any of the top 4, IMO.

Other Notables:

7. Andy Roddick
Top American gets a qualifier in round 1, but meets the crafty serve-volleyer Michael Llodra after that. Former #1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, Sam "SQL" Querrey and Roddick's conqueror from last year, Kohlschreiber, are possible 3rd round opponents. Stefanki will need to have his pupil ready to go from the start.

9. James Blake
Newest Fila sponsor has progressed one round farther the last 4 years, leading to a quarterfinal showing in 2008. A repeat performance is not out of the question, but he'll have to get by the powerful Frenchman, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

14. Fernando Verdasco
Tobasco ended 2008 as a Davis Cup hero, and is picking up right where he left off. An extremely tight match with Federer (7-6(5)) in the 3rd shows his game is in fine form. With any luck some of the Aussie love being showered on his girl Ivanovic will land on him. 3rd rounder against Stepanek could be a good one.

Ernests Gulbis
thessmallspot is bullish on this Latvian's game. His 6'3" frame allows him to generate the power needed for a Top 10 ranking, but he's still prone to lapses in concentration. Look for Gulbis to make some noise in the early rounds against Andreev and possibly Blake.

Lleyton Hewitt
Brutal draw for the hometown favorite, as the Jerkstore gets the Number 13 seed right off the bat. In his prime Hewitt would've destroyed Gonzo, feasting on all the unforced errors and relentlessly targeting the Chilean's backhand. However, Hewitt's been dogged by injuries and isn't as consistent as he used to be. I'll take Lleyton over Fernando, but don't expect him to get much further.

Predictions

Hard to pick against the Big 4 right now, but how boring is that? The Australian Open always seems to produce one surprise finalist ie. Schuettler, Johansson, Baghdatis, Gonzo, and Tsonga.

Semifinals:

Simon v. Murray
Roddick v. Federer

Finals:

Murray v. Federer

Champion:

Federer

Top 5 Tennis Villains

We've been riding high on the coattails of unprecedented traffic here based on the previous post about Sampras' new racket, but it's time to show thesmallspot some love. Let's ramp it up in anticipation of the Australian Open, shall we?

Early results: Murray looks good notching wins over Federer and Nadal, Roddick makes it to the final of his first tournament working with Stefanki, and Djokovic is scrambling to get extra matches after losing early. Personalities help liven up rivalries, and tennis likes to trump up its Good Guys. That's fine, but we only have people to root for. Let's take a different tack and identify some you can root against:

#1
Name: Andy Roddick
How he earned his Bad Boy Stripes: Surprise! America's golden boy is Tennis' #1 Villain. A lot of Andy's bad behavior gets glossed over by the US media, but Roddick doesn't enjoy the same treatment in the rest of the world. Roddick directs his venom at chair umpires, and in last year's Australian Open had this to say to the unfortunate soul in the chair: "shut up", "have a bit of class", "[Your ears are] connected to your head, use them", "I'm going to speak very slowly to you, so you can understand me" and "Kids, stay in school or you'll end up being an umpire". Yowch.

#2
Name: Lleyton Hewitt
How he earned his Bad Boy Stripes: Hewitt's in-your-face attitude and fist pumps are well documented, and he's turned many of his coworkers against him by cheering their errors. One of his most notorious incidents came in 2001 at the US Open, in a 4th round match against James Blake. After being called for multiple foot faults, Hewitt requested that the line judge be removed from the match, yelling at the chair umpire, "Look at him. Look at him and you tell me what the similarity is. Just get him off the court." Blake (and many others) interpreted these remarks as racially motivated, but James ultimately took the high road and gave Hewitt the benefit of the doubt. Marriage and children have mellowed the fiery Aussie, but watching him (incorrectly) dispute a call at the Hopman Cup reminded us of his ugly side.

#3
Name: Nicolas Kiefer
How he earned his Bad Boy Stripes: This is another Hopman Cup revival. Kiefer's fallen off the map a bit these days, but seeing his surly disposition and general disdain for the ballkids brought back a flood of memories. I have an extreme dislike for players who treat the ballkids poorly. Bad boy highlight: a 2006 Australian Open match (what is it with players behaving badly Down Under?) against Sebastien Grosjean. A rally ended with both players up at net for a volley exchange. Kiefer hit a soft reply and as Grosjean prepared to volley to the open court, Kiefer tossed his racket toward the net. Distracted, Grosjean volleyed wide and appealed to the chair umpire, claiming hindrance. Kiefer quickly picked up his racket and wagged his finger "no", and to my utter amazement, got away with this completely bush-league behavior.

#4
Name: Robin Soderling
How he earned his Bad Boy Stripes: Seriously, is this not the face of Pure Evil? Add Soderling to the Doesn't-Play-Nicely-With-Ballkids group. His 2007 Wimbledon matchup with Nadal also got ugly. Frustrated with Nadal's deliberate pace, Soderling engaged in gamesmanship, imitating Nadal's wedgie pick and slowing down the pace of the game himself. After losing in 5 tight sets, he took his feud public with comments to the press, endearing himself to no one.

#5
Name: Novak Djokovic
How he earned his Bad Boy Stripes: This is a rough call as Djokovic has largely cleaned up his act. Early in his career Djokovic was known for taking dubious injury timeouts, trash talking opponents through the press, and enabling his ridiculous parents to attend tennis matches. Novak showed he hasn't lost his touch at the 2008 US Open, turning the crowd against him by very publicly taking exception to comments Roddick had made about him in the press. As boos rained down, an unrepentant Djokovic stalked off to the locker room.

Disagree? Think I left someone out? Sound off below!

Stefanki punks Gonzo, goes with Roddick

Well all the news outlets are reporting that Roddick has hired Stefanki to be his new coach in 2009, but almost no one seems to be talking about how Stefanki dumped the player he was currently coaching, Fernando Gonzalez, to take up the job!

When I first read the news, I thought "That's odd. I don't even remember when Stefanki and Gonzo broke up; I wonder what caused the split?" Looks like Roddick caused the split! Gonzalez posted a notice to his website on Nov 19th stating that Stefanki had received the proverbial offer-you-can't-refuse to work for the USTA. Nov 20th the news came out that Stefanki would be working with Roddick. What's going on here? Did Stefanki pull a fast one on Gonzo? Or is the USTA footing the bill, in a program similar to the one the English LTA had with Brad Gilbert and Andy Murray?

Drama aside, this is a strong hire for Roddick. Stefanki is an extremely well-respected coach, who took previous charges Marcelo Rios and Yevgeny Kafelnikov to #1 under his tutelage. Stefanki stresses fitness and building a strong foundation in the legs. As Roddick is a suspect mover compared to the rest of the Top 10, I think this will be a beneficial partnership. Come to think of it, Roddick is not unlike Gonzo; a strong forehand, weaker backhand, and an average to below-average mover. Maybe Stefanki can stop Roddick from making those ill-timed approaches to the net. It should be interesting to gauge Roddick's form come Jan 19th in Melbourne.

Dan Patrick pisses off Andy Roddick

With a fiancee like this... Brooklyn Decker was on the Dan Patrick radio show and ended up putting Roddick on the spot. Dan Patrick tried to get a rise out of Roddick by flirting with his girl and proving that his life is better than the World #8's. When that strategy proved a little too successful, they testily broke off the exchange. Yikes.

The Bull and the Matador

"SQL" Querrey managed to get more than three blinks. He got a set and 2-0 up before his disembodied head rolled to a stop on the dusty clay of the Las Ventas Bullring. Not bad - he certainly impressed this skeptic. Somehow thesmallspot got some misinformation on Friday, thinking that Roddick vs. Nadal was going to be the first match up. Not to worry, we've fired our whole QA department over the weekend and are bringing in some top-notch fact checkers.

Anyway, back to the USA-Spain Davis Cup semifinal. On Friday, Roddick lost a heart breaker to Ferrer, 8-6 in the 5th. The tie was effectively over at this point, but Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan played a great match to salvage the doubles, and Sunday brought us the marquee match up. Current #1 vs. Former #1. Rafa Nadal and Andy Roddick. There was a sense that Roddick could turn a miracle here; Rafa was tired from a long year, maybe Andy could ambush him, and with the decisive rubber coming up, who knew what Sam Querrey could do?

From the start Roddick had a game plan and was committed to it; he knew he didn't have a prayer of trying to out-rally Nadal from the baseline, so he attacked the net at every opportunity. Taking a page from Querrey's moderately successful strategy, Roddick served out wide to Rafa and followed the ball in to the net. I'm still amazed at how well top pros return Roddick's serve, even on clay. I mean, that sucker is coming in at 140mph! But that was Rafa, putting balls back into play from deep behind the baseline. Roddick showed some good hands and improvisation, massaging some drop volleys over the net and slicing others deep. Nadal has world-class speed though, and caught up to balls that looked surely out of reach, banging them down the line for winners. You could see PMac urge Roddick to continue attacking; he probably told Roddick that if he didn't get passed 20 times, he wasn't coming in enough. Roddick's serve bailed him out and he continued to hold. In one return game, Roddick ripped a backhand up the line off a second serve from Nadal and followed it in. It was a Big Boy play, and I was impressed to see Roddick come up with it. But Nadal scrambled to his left and ripped an even more impressive forehand pass up the line that Roddick couldn't even touch; it seemed to be a sign. Nadal started catching up to more of Roddick's volleys and found the range on his passing shots. He broke soon after and secured the 1st set, 6-4.

In the buildup for the second set the commentators, Leif Shiras and Barry McKay, talked about how despite the setbacks, Roddick needed to continue attacking. They trotted out the bullfighter analogy for the 2^9592065 time. Really, though, that was just confusing. Is Roddick the Bull, or is he the Matador? I mean, doesn't Rafa have to be the Bull? He even has a bull branded on his tennis shoes! Yet Roddick is the one pawing the clay and charging the net, only to be bamboozled at the last second by a Rafa passing shot. And really, I've had just about enough of Barry McKay. The dude sounds like he's hunched over an In n Out double-double, muttering "mmph...it's good." anytime a ball goes remotely near the line. We ALL know it's in Barry. That's why the linesman hasn't said anything and the players continue to chase after the ball. Tennis Channel, if you want to be taken seriously, you're going to have to shell out for some higher-quality talent. Leif Shiras is a good start; Barry McKay needs some serious coaching to stay and Doug Adler just has to go.

Watching this match, you get a sense of the conversation Roddick and Patrick McEnroe might have had as they were strategizing. "So Andy," Patrick might have started, "you have a phenomenal serve, mediocre volleys and solid if unspectacular approach shots. What about attacking all day and putting Nadal under heaps of pressure? Do you think that he has what it takes to come up with tough passing shots all day in the pressure-filled atmosphere of Davis Cup?" The answer to that is an emphatic yes. Nadal annihilated Roddick in the 2nd set, 6-0. He was hitting return winners off Roddick's 1st serve (sursly, how do you do that?!) and missed only a couple of the passing shots he attempted. Roddick backed off the go-for-broke strategy a bit in the 3rd set, and his traditional game plan was only able to get him 4 more games as Nadal wrapped up the 3rd set and the win for Spain, 6-4.

On the other side of the globe, Argentina finished Russia off in a closer-than-I-expected tie, 3-2. Spain will travel to Argentina for the final, to be held Nov 21-23 on fast, indoor carpet. Hard to pick against Nadal right now; this seems to be a year destined by the Fates, even if he is slightly injured (Nadal supposedly almost didn't play Roddick due to an injury in his famous posterior). Argentina will be going for their first Davis Cup championship ever, and the home crowd will be pulling for them like crazy. Who's your pick?

So you're telling me there's a chance!

There's a chance, but it is anchored in Andy Roddick taking out David Ferrer in match 1. Davis Cup this weekend, and the US is up against it, away at Spain for the semifinals. Ravi Ubha has an excellent rundown on all the ties happening, so I'll avoid piling on and instead focus on just the US tie (thesmallspot: xenophobism, ur doin it rite, akshually!).

The key to this tie is Roddick putting the US up 1-0 and instilling belief in his teammates. They believe they can beat Spain, but they don't really believe it, if you know what I mean. I get the feeling that they look at losing the semifinals against Spain as an acceptable loss, especially away on clay, with less than the A team. Except for Roddick. That guy is a Davis Cup animal! If he wins and the patchwork doubles team of Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan can pull through, there's no telling what could happen on the final day.

And don't tell me that there's a chance Querrey beats Nadal. Please. I saw that US Open match where Querrey surprisingly took a set off Nadal, and that was because Nadal went on walkabout while up 5-2. Quick side story: When I was in 7th grade I was on the wrestling team, and our first meet was against Octorara. I was a decent but unproven wrestler, not unlike Querrey in the Davis Cup. The weight class lists were revealed right before weigh-ins, and it turned out I was going to wrestle the unknown-to-me-Matt Wood. "Matt Wood?!" one of my teammates exclaimed, "You're going to get KILLED!" Another wrestler, Keegan, jumped to my defense before my confidence was totally shot. "Shut up man, Smallz is good, and he's quick." I nodded at him, glad for the encouraging words. The meet opened and I raced out to the mat to wrestle what turned out to be a cyborg stuffed into an 8th grade boy's body. To this day I still don't really know what happened; this guy did "SHOCK and AWE" in a way that would've eliminated terrorism. As soon as the referee's whistle blew he bowled me over; I don't think he even used a real move and I was pinned in 10 seconds flat. They say that when the guillotine chops off your head you have time to blink twice before you're dead. It was like that for me. *Blink, blink* and I was back on the bench watching the 95 lb match.

Sorry Querrey, but Nadal makes Matt Wood look like the tooth fairy. My advice? Try to last three blinks.

TV Schedule for the matches:

Friday, September 19
12:00 pm - 3:00 pm Davis Cup: USA vs. Spain (Rubber 1) Versus (L)
3:00 pm - 6:00 pm Davis Cup: USA vs. Spain (Rubber 2) Versus (L)

Saturday, September 20
12:00 pm - 3:00 pm Davis Cup: USA vs. Spain (Rubber 3) Versus (L)
8:00 pm - 11:00 pm Davis Cup: USA vs. Spain (Rubber 3) Tennis Channel (T)

Sunday, September 21
12:00 am - 3:00 am Davis Cup: USA vs. Spain (Rubber 3) Tennis Channel (T)
12:00 pm - 3:00 pm Davis Cup: USA vs. Spain (Rubber 4) Versus (L)
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm Davis Cup: USA vs. Spain (Rubber 5) Versus (L)
8:00 pm - 11:00 pm Davis Cup: USA vs. Spain (Rubber 4) Tennis Channel (T)
11:00 pm - 2:00 am Davis Cup: USA vs. Spain (Rubber 5) Tennis Channel (T)

Fueling the Fire

Two points from leveling the match at 2 sets all, Roddick steps up to serve. His matte-black baseball cap is further dulled by the sweat that soaks through it, making it look like a cast-iron skillet. An apt comparison, to go along with his searing serve. On the other side of the net Djokovic bounces up and down, his spiky jet-black hair shining in the glow of Ashe's floodlights. Roddick's first delivery misses. He gambles on his second, going for the ace. Clips the tape. 30-all now, and Roddick again misfires. Two double-faults in a row! 20,000 fans in Ashe murmur in shock. At breakpoint Roddick hits the panic button. For Andy, that means rushing the net at inopportune times. He kicks his first serve out wide, rushes in to play a backhand volley, and is trapped as Djokovic's lob sails over him and lands inside the baseline. The 4th set goes to a tiebreaker, but becomes a formality as Djokovic captures the early advantage and withstands a late rally by Roddick to finish the deal.

A couple minutes later Djokovic managed to turn those cheers into boos during his on-court interview with Michael Barkann. Djokovic obviously had a huge chip on his shoulder, and basically said that he was happy to beat Roddick since Roddick said he had "16 injuries". Barkann tried to rescue the interview but Djokovic would not let it go. He kept talking about how it "wasn't nice that Roddick was telling the crowd he was faking injuries". I think this event got blown out of proportion, so I'll just say that I agree that Roddick's previous interview (see below post) was mostly in jest, and also that Djokovic never broke the rules by calling the trainer when he played Robredo. If you've got a problem with that, beat him, or change the rules.

So what happened in this match? Roddick was in such a hurry to lose the first set that I only caught the tail end of it when I got home from work. Djokovic was blocking Roddick's first serve back, deep, and waiting for Roddick to make an error, which Roddick was only too eager to oblige. The second set was more of the same. Djokovic would push Andy behind the baseline with a deep shot to the middle, then swing him out wide to his backhand, but with margin; a safety shot. Roddick's reply was to hit his backhand hard crosscourt, where Djokovic was ready and waiting to send his next shot down the line for the winner. Simple but very effective. Roddick also seemed unable to finish off short balls for winners, sending them long. He changed tack and started hitting these balls as approaches to finish off the point at the net, but Roddick's forehand doesn't lend itself to an approach shot. His extreme Western grip makes it harder to get down to low balls, and his heavy topspin makes the balls jump up into the strike zone, instead of penetrating through the court. Roddick's black-and-white striped shirt was the zebra to Djokovic's lion, watching passing shots zip through him all night.

At 2-1 in the 3rd set Djokovic played an extremely loose game and Roddick took advantage to get the break. This seemed to give his serve the shot it needed, as up to this point Roddick was aceless. Now it was raining big buckets of Roddick aces. He made the one break stand up and took the 3rd set. The 4th set started and Roddick really seemed to hit his stride. He abandoned the panicky bluff-my-way-to-net strategy and started going for his groundstrokes, especially on the forehand, hitting several nicely angled inside-out winners. He started anticipating Djokovic's down the line strike and recovered closer to the center line after hitting backhands. Djokovic, clearly rattled by the pro-Andy crowd and the suddenly powerful groundies, began to press and miss a bit more. Roddick broke at 3 all and it looked like we were heading to a 5th set. John McEnroe was happy, Ted Robinson was happy, and it looked like the USA Network would get the send-off that they were looking for. And then they didn't.

To his credit, Roddick showed good sportsmanship at the end of the match and walked off the court waving to the crowd. From their press conferences later, it appears that they cleared the air in the locker room afterward. And although he lost and extinguished the dream of an American man winning this year, I think Roddick's run has to be considered a success. Since he seems to thrive on people writing him off, I'll add some fuel to his fire; you'll never win another major, Andy!