Archive | Wimbledon RSS feed for this section

Andy Roddick in Retrospect

15 Sep

Roddick Start to Finish

I first heard of Andy Roddick during the 2000 US Open final when the announcers mentioned the winners of the junior US Open events.  I saw Andy Roddick’s final match as he lost to Juan Martin del Potro.  I will miss seeing Roddick in major draws.  It became apparent after some health issues scuttled a promising start to 2010 that Andy Roddick was no longer an outside threat to win majors.   Roddick kept plugging away and won in Memphis in 2011 and at Eastbourne and Atlanta in 2012.  Roddick winning at least one title per year for 12 years and finishing 9 consecutive years in the top 10 are among his best marks on the tour.  His US Open title and year end finish at #1 in 2003 are his other great accomplishments.

Roddick Reached His Goals

Andy Roddick set out four goals when he became a tennis pro.  He wanted to win the US Open and Wimbledon titles, he wanted to reach #1 in the world rankings and he wanted to win a Davis Cup title for the United States.  Roddick won the US Open and reached the #1 ranking during the 2003 season.  In 2007, Roddick helped the US win the Davis Cup title.  Wimbledon was not to be, but Roddick was a runner-up in 2004, 2005 and 2009.

Roddick was an Australian Open semifinalist in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009.  He reached two other Australian Open quarterfinal rounds in 2004 and 2010.  His Australian Open results alone outstrip the Grand Slam results of James Blake, John Isner and Mardy Fish combined.  His 3 Wimbledon runner-up finishes were joined by a semifinal finish in 2003 and a quarterfinal finish in 2007.  At the US Open Roddick added a runner-up finish in 2006 as well as quarterfinal finishes in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2011 to his 2003 title.  US tennis had a consistent second week performer in Andy Roddick.  A replacement is not on the horizon.

Did Not Become a National Sports Figure

After Andy Roddick won the 2003 US Open and was soon on the Best Damn Sports Show Period laughing it up with retired professional athletes.  Roddick may yet become a national sports figure by pursuing his career in Sports Radio.  He has been a regular guest of Dan Patrick and already has a radio show.  Roddick never got to be a national sports figure for casual tennis fans because Roger Federer frankly blunted his drives for success from 2004-2007 when Roddick had chances to increase his Grand Slam haul.  Roddick had the personality to engage the average US sports fan’s psyche, but he needed more elite results to cross-over.  It just did not happen.  He may have a last laugh in that he beat Roger Federer in their final head-to-head match earlier this year, but Federer will always be linked to Roddick’s career.

My Memories

  • I first remember how heavy Roddick’s second serve seemed when he played some clay court events in the US in 2001.
  • I thought Roddick looked positively awesome in the early rounds of the 2004 US Open (including a shellacking of a young Rafa Nadal) only to lose in the quarters.
  • He had a lot of high profile coaching changes, but Larry Stefanki seemed to be the right man for his late career.
  • I am a Federer fan, but I was gutted to see his composure and pain after the 2009 Wimbledon final.
  • His 2010 win in Miami beating Nadal in the semifinal round and Berdych in the championship match was his last super high point.
  • He won his final head-to-head match with Roger Federer and lost his last Australian Open match to Lleyton Hewitt.

Tags: , , , ,

10 Olympic Takeaways

9 Aug
  1. Serena Williams adds to her sublime legacy with decisive gold medals in singles and doubles.  Serena has career Golden Slams in singles and doubles now.  Fodder for a GOAT debate?
  2. Speed Kills – Andy Murray took a huge step by winning 5 straight sets over Djokovic and Federer en route to a gold medal in singles.  Throw in a silver in mixed doubles and Murray has gotten most if not all of the monkey off of his back.  A first Grand Slam title could be coming in New York or Melbourne.
  3. Victoria Azarenka won her first Grand Slam in January.  She has added a bronze medal in singles and a gold medal in mixed doubles to her trophy case for 2012.
  4. Roger Federer finally got a medal in singles after coming so close in 2000.  He achieved a career Silver Slam in London.  Federer seemed to have a good perspective on his 2nd place showing.  Still, the final match reminded me a bit of what Safin and Hewitt did to Sampras in the 2000 and 2001 US Open championship matches.
  5. Juan Martin del Potro helped put on a match for the ages that demonstrated how much Olympic success means to tennis players.  He followed up heartbreak with a win over Djokovic.  This piece by Dan Wetzel summed up the match far better than I can.
  6. Venus Williams could have a great career as a doubles specialist if her illness stymies her singles ambitions.
  7. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Milos Raonic showed heart and nerve in their on court battle.  Maybe they should team to face JMDP and Federer in a charity doubles match.  Tsonga did pick up a silver in doubles.
  8. Color did not hurt the atmosphere at Wimbledon.
  9. Tennis may be huge in Rio, but the shift from grass to clay to hard courts was difficult in 1992.
  10. Maria Sharapova also achieved a career Silver Slam in singles.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

The International Tennis Hall of Fame

10 Jul

The International Tennis Hall of Fame is hosting its annual 25o level event on the ATP tour.  It is the only grass court event held on US soil.  It is also the only grass court ATP tour event held after Wimbledon concludes.  I attended the tournament in 1999 and watched Chris Woodruff win the title.  Watching professionals play on grass was a real treat.  The day prior John McEnroe was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

I have toured the museum three times.  It is a special place for a tennis fan to see.  I would encourage all fans who are near Rhode Island to make a stop and see the museum.  I would love to one day visit the museum and also rent a court for an hour and hit on grass.  It is not a surface that many of us get to play on unless we were really elite junior players or know someone with a cool backyard.

Beyond that, the displays on the Battle of the Sexes match, Steffi Graf’s racquet from the 1988 US Open final, the Real/Royal Tennis Court on the grounds, the show court, the US-Germany Davis Cup display from 1937 and the antique racquets are all great treats for tennis fans.

This week’s event takes on a bit of added importance because the London Olympics are holding the tennis events on grass.  It is nice to see a stronger than average field battle for a title on what I consider to be hallowed grounds.

Post Script

If I could make one suggestion, it would be for the USTA to include this event in the US Open Series.  The US Open and US Championships were held on grass at Forest Hills until the 1975 switch to har-tru.  Holding the opening event of the US Open Series on grass would be a nice tip of the hat to history as well as an act of solidarity by the USTA that might help this tournament attract one or two more top 30 players every year.

Trivia

The International Tennis Hall of Fame was used during the tennis scene of The Royal Tenenbaums.

Tags: , ,

Post Wimbledon Power Ranking for the Week of July 9 – July 15, 2012

10 Jul

Dan Martin’s 2012 Power Rankings for the

Week of July 9 through July 15

A Lot of Changes Due to Wimbledon

1.  Roger Federer – His Wimbledon win means Roger Federer has a tour leading 5 titles for 2012.  Like Rafa, Roger also has two Masters 1000 titles this year.  Change from last ranking + 2

2.  Novak Djokovic – A Wimbledon semifinal finish helps Nole maintain his #2 spot.

3.  Rafael Nadal - Rafa like Roger has a slam, two 1000 series titles and one 500 series title in 2012.  The bad news is that Nadal lost in the 2nd round to the #100 player in the world.  Change from last ranking – 2

4.  Andy Murray - Andy lost the Wimbledon final, but he showed a lot of metal in successive wins vs. Karlovic, Baghdatis, Cilic, Ferrer and Tsonga.  He played his best Grand Slam final ever as well.  Andy made it clear that he belongs in the top 4.  He also has room to grow so his fans should take heart.  Change from last ranking +3

5.  David Ferrer – Ferrer shrugged off the beating he took at Roland Garros with a grass court title and a Wimbledon quarterfinal appearance.  His wins over Roddick and del Potro give him credentials off of clay.  He played Murray tough as well.  Change from last ranking – 1

6.  Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – Tsonga is the player in the best position to challenge the top 4.  He nearly beat Nole in Paris and made a solid semifinal showing at Wimbledon.  Change from last ranking +3

7.  Juan Martin del Potro – Delpo played well in his first three Wimbledon matches, but was dominated by Ferrer.  Concerns about the big man’s knees are real.  Change from last ranking – 2

8.  Philipp Kohlschreiber – His quarterfinal showing and solid play in Halle make Kohlschreiber a legitimate threat to medal at the 2012 Olympic games.  He gets grass court tennis.  Change from last ranking – newcomer

9.  Mardy Fish -  Fish overcame a massive health issue and reached the round of 16 at SW19.  Change from last ranking – newcomer

10.  Marin Cilic – Combining his victory at Queen’s Club with his gritty performance to reach the round of 16 at Wimbledon means Cilic may be reclaiming some of his promise from 2009 and early 2010.  Change from last ranking – newcomer

New Comers – Philipp Kohlschreiber, Mardy Fish and Marin Cilic

Dropped Out – Tomas Berdych, Nicolas Almagro, and Tommy Haas

Biggest Movers – Andy Murray and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga +3

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Who is the Greatest Male Grass Court Player of the Open Era? (POLL)

9 Jul

Martina Navratilova seems to have locked up the female honor here.  Consider the following cases before voting and of course comment below.

  • Bjorn Borg – 5 consecutive Wimbledon titles, 1 Wimbledon runner-up finish, 6 consecutive Wimbledon final rounds reached, 2 Wimbledon quarterfinal finishes
  • Pete Sampras – 7 Wimbledon titles, 7-0 in Wimbledon finals, 1 Wimbledon semifinal finish, 1 Wimbledon quarterfinal finish, 2 Queen’s Club titles, 2 Queen’s Club runner-up finishes
  • Roger Federer – 7 Wimbledon titles, 5 consecutive titles, 6 consecutive Wimbledon final rounds reached, 1 Wimbledon runner-up finish, 3 Wimbledon quarterfinal finishes, 5 Halle titles, 2 Halle runner-up finishes

Does Pete’s 7-0 record out pace Roger’s slightly deeper run on grass?  Does Borg’s success on grass despite not being an all-court player or serve an volley player boost him to the lead?  Are Roger’s 12 titles on grass too much to overcome?

Tags: , , , , ,

Federer’s 7 and 17

9 Jul

Roger Federer is Back on Top

Roger Federer won a 7th Wimbledon title and a record extending 17th major title.  He has returned to the #1 ranking.  Federer has now tied Sampras’ records for 7 Wimbledon titles and for total weeks at #1.  In one week, Roger will be the sole owner of the record for the most total weeks at #1.   This turn of events looked quite improbable during the final weekend of the 2012 French Open.

Federer Looked Mortal

Roger Federer’s losses to Novak Djokovic during the clay court season in Rome and Paris gave the impression that father time had eroded Federer’s mental toughness.  It was not that Federer was supposed to beat Djokovic, but failing to take a set or to at least force a tiebreak after breaking Djokovic 3 times seemed shocking.  Federer looked resigned to defeat in Paris.  As an admirer of Federer, this was hard to watch.

Federer Furthered His Standing in the Pantheon*

After Roger looked so mortal one month earlier, he rebounded to defeat Novak Djokovic in 4 sets in a semifinal rematch.  After reaching the championship round, Federer defeated Andy Murray.  Federer defeated 2 of the best return men in tennis by serving at a sublime level. The suddenly mortal Roger just etched an indelible mark into tennis history.

Roger can now make a claim to be the top grass court player in the Open Era (obviously that is a question open to debate).  However, Roger Federer’s 17 major titles as well as claiming an all-time record with the number 1 ranking further cements his case as the greatest player of all time.**  Rod Laver called Roger the greatest before he won on Sunday.  I will have more to say about Roger and Serena as the week progresses, but this seems like a good place to stop.


* – Bill Simmons coined the term pantheon for describing sports figures
• The Pantheon
That’s a term my buddies and I created back in college, defined then and forever as “the highest level of transcendence.” Pantheon Guys endure; you remember them, regardless of whether they peaked for two seasons or 20. It doesn’t matter how long those guys were on top … just that they peaked, and we were there, and even if it only lasted for two seasons, you were saying to yourself, “Good Lord, that guy is good.”
** – Consider that Rafa became a Grand Slam champion and top tier player in 2005.  At the start of 2005 Roger had 4 6 Grand Slam titles.  In July 2012, Roger has 17 and Rafa has 11 Grand Slam titles.  The gap has actually increased in the time between Rafa becoming a Grand Slam champion.  Rafa is the best candidate for catching Roger due to already having banked 11 majors, but it is a long road to add 6 more.  Roger could realistically continue to add to his total as well.

Tags: , ,

Serena Williams’ Legacy Grows

7 Jul

Serena Williams fought of a game Agnieeszka Radwanska to win her 5th Wimbledon singles title 6-1, 5-7, 6-2. Serena’s first two service games of the 3rd set were crucial to determining the winner.  Williams’ serve had abandoned at the close of the 2nd set.  Aga had her teeth in the match.  Serena failed to convert break points at 1-1 in the 3rd set and fell behind 1-2.  Serena responded in the most dominant and intimidating manner that she could by serving 4 consecutive bombs.  The match was never the same after Serena asserted her greatness.

Serena’s Place on the All-Time List

I will go into this more fully at a later date, but I am not going to Jon Wertheim route from a few years ago.  I do not see Serena as the GOAT and her path to achieve that status would be challenging.  Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova both seem to me to be comfortably out in front of Serena for the time being.  Still, I think this victory helps Serena in debates against Monica Seles and Chris Evert.  Seles is the hardest all-time great to rank because her tragic stabbing altered the course of a career that was on a trajectory to challenge almost every record in singles.  I somewhat hesitantly place Serena in front of Seles.  Evert may have more singles slams than Serena, but I think Serena’s doubles excellence places her ahead of Evert.  My top 5 without giving it more thought (future deep thought post forthcoming) would be Graf, Navratilova, Serena Williams, Monica Seles and then Chris Evert.  I realize Graf did not dominate in doubles either, but I think the Golden Slam has to count for something.

Tags: , ,

My Final Picks

7 Jul

I think these two finals should be enjoyed in and of themselves.  My best guess is that Serena and Roger add to their Wimbledon winnings.  Still, the gentlemen’s final is so historically significant fans need to just enjoy this weekend.  My quick $.02

Tags: , , , ,

The Federer-Murray Stakes are High

6 Jul

A Roger Federer win would only mean:

  • A 7th Wimbledon title tying Pete Sampras’ 7
  • A record extending 17th Grand Slam singles title
  • A return to the #1 ranking
  • Tying & surpassing Pete Sampras for the most total weeks at #1
  • At 30 years of age this could possibly be a final major title and a final trip to #1 for Federer

With all of that at stake for Roger, there is much more is riding on Murray’s performance.  I am not sure what that means for the final as this level of expectation is essentially uncharted waters.  Imagine that you were playing in the final of the most important event in tennis on home soil when your home country popularized and spread tennis around the world.  Imagine all of that being coupled with a massive title drought.  It is more external pressure facing a player than has ever been placed on a player.

Internal pressure is something one cannot measure.  Maybe all of the external pressure leads to an inner calm for Murray.  Maybe it crushes him like a grape being stepped on by an elephant.  Roger, largely due to age, has a lot of internal pressure regarding this being perhaps last great opportunity of his career.  I can see Roger winning another major or two even if he loses Sunday, but the top ranking is not likely to be this close again.  This is a psychologically epic match. I just hope that the quality of play is not crushed by these conditions.

Tags: , ,

Who Will Win the Wimbledon 2012 Gentlemen’s Final? (Poll)

6 Jul

Tags: , , , ,

← Older Entries

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 899 other followers