Weapons: One of the greatest serves ever, solid net game
Weaknesses: Lost some power off the forehand, weaker backhand, lost some of the aggressive tendencies of a couple years ago

With a serve as good as Roddick’s, it’s impossible to count him out. Unfortunately, questions still remain. His interest to get forward and dictate play from a couple years ago seems to have all but disappeared, and it’s crucial he keeps that aggressive style in mind if he wants to go far. If the conditions stay rough, this might not help out his serve either, as things slow down. It’s tough to know with Andy, we’ll have to go match to match, more than anything.

Welcome to the MTR live blogging of the Memphis final! Pull up a chair. I’ll be chiming in in below, as well as in comments in the actual post… and on Twitter. Please keep your comments respectful, so I don’t have to put on the filter and approve everything before they go through. Enjoy the match everyone!

If I were Andy Roddick, I’d be scared of playing in Shanghai again. Seriously.

You guys remember how this tournament went for him last year? I’ll remind you. He injured his knee against Wawrinka and was out for the rest of the season missing the World Tour Finals.

I was hoping (I bet he was too) this year would be different. It started well. Andy cruised in the 1st round due to Kohls’ retirement. I didn’t watch his match but he was up a set when he got injured. He received medical treatment first and returned to the court with his right thigh taped. Unfortunately he couldn’t move properly and was forced to retire against Garcia-Lopez.

Same tournament. Same court.

After the match Roddick said “The past couple of days in practice, I feel like I’ve been kind of moving like an elephant, kind of slow, just trying to protect it,” Roddick said. “I strained it a little bit worse (today), and it was to the point where moving at all felt like I was getting stabbed in the leg. It’s really tough to get hurt or tougher to get hurt up a set and a break.”

This is a big blow in his bid to qualify to London and finish the year in the Top 10 for the ninth consecutive season. No one knows how serious this injury is or if it will keep him away for long. Roddick hopes to come back in time for Basel.

I feel really bad for him. Get well soon, Andy.

Wow. Tipsy ousted A-Rod in four sets to reach the 3rd round for the first time.
This is the earliest exit from a Slam to Andy since Wimbledon 2008. Ironically, he also lost to Janko there.

I’m not a Roddick fan, never have been. I felt sorry for the guy after the Wimbly final, but again, who didn’t? I’ve tried really hard to like him but damn, he makes it difficult sometimes, mainly because of his on court behavior. That’s exactly what happened. Just like Serena last year, Andy was penalized for a foot fault.
Instead of continue to play and put that moment behind him, he kept arguing and well, you know it ended. It’s a shame because he really had a doable draw with good chances of reaching SF. I don’t care what some people might say, but when you’re a pro athlete you need to be ready for this kind of stuff to happen and stay focused and calm. I know, easier said than done.

Later, A-Rod said what really had bothered him was that the lineswoman wouldn’t acknowledge that she was mistaken when she blamed his right foot for the ruling, when in fact was his left foot that crossed the line.

Anyways, major props to Janko. What a win. I didn’t watch the entire match (I blame you, time difference!) but it seems the Serbian played amazingly. Tipsy smacked 66 winners, won 81 percent of his first-serve points and saved 3 of the 5 break points he faced. He was terrific from the baseline and also took advantage of Andy’s poor net game, which is always a smart thing to do.

After the match Roddick told him “If you lose early I’m going to freaking kill you”. I totally agree so, do not even dare, Janko.

Love or hate grass tennis, if you can serve well and give yourself a chance to win, anything can happen.

And so it goes, with Rendy defeating RAndy in what is surely the bigest “what the FFFUUUUU?” result of the tournament so far, on either side.

Dick got off to a pretty routine start, grabbing a break, serving things out, first set 6-4. Lu was persistent, however, and kept serving huge, and finding ways to get aggressive. Before anyone knew what was going on, Lu took the second set tiebreak, he took the third set tiebreak. Huh?

Dick brought the heat in the fourth set tiebreak, and evened it up. A set a piece. I figured that that was the match. Dick would keep serving big, keep holding serve, and Lu would eventually crack. Not the case. Thanks to three wonky errors from Dick, and an awkward net approach, Lu found himself with the biggest win of his career, 9-7 in the fifth.

Make no doubt about it, Lu was in control on his serve, and looked a legit contender after taking the second set. His small size helped, and he actually reminded me of a lesser Roddick. He took low balls, scooped them with authority, and got ‘em back deep. He was able to keep Dick pinned on the baseline and without options. From there he’d slowly creep his way in and find a way to turn it into brilliant offense. And he wasn’t missing.

That being said, it really did seem that Andy was incredibly reactive and passive, especially in those second and third sets, and while he was able to hold serve, it burned him in the tiebreaks. Even on net approaches, he didn’t really give off the vibe that he was comfortable or knew what was going on. I would have liked to see him have a few “go for broke” return games, try something new, work some drop shots… just something nuts. In his own words, his return game was “crap”.

But that’s grass court tennis. Dick hadn’t been broken since the first set against Llodra… and is then broken in 16th game of the fifth set three matches later. And loses. So it goes.

Q. John and Mahut are in an incredible marathon. You had your marathon last year. What happens when you get deep into a fifth set and it just goes on and on? Do you go to a different place? Is it harder to focus?

ANDY RODDICK: I played a couple. Obviously last year, Davis Cup with Tursunov, the El Aynaoui match way back when.
It’s so important to stay there mentally, especially on grass. You know, you got to harp on those first points of every service game, try to get that. Love‑15, 15‑30, that starts becoming dicey. So they’re doing a pretty good job of putting themselves in good position as far as serving with a lead.
Beyond that, you know, you always kind of try to convince yourself it’s only going to be another 10 or 15 minutes, even if you might not believe it at the time.

Q. What’s given you that better attitude on grass than you had earlier?
KIM CLIJSTERS: I don’t know. I think probably the biggest difference that I can think of is in the past, uhm, obviously I was probably playing the French Open, you know, about two weeks before or a week before I was starting on grass. And I think the adjustment was something that took me a little bit longer. By the time that I felt that I was, you know, feeling comfortable on clay, you know, we were moving on to different surface, grass. I think maybe it took me a little bit longer.
I think now, not being in Paris, was frustrating, but I think maybe it’s helped me to adjust a little bit faster on grass.

Q. Having that in mind, do you think it does make some sense to have a fifth set tiebreak like the US Open?
ROGER FEDERER: I think it’s perfect the way it is. It’s unfortunate these guys are going to be a little bit tired tomorrow and the next day and the next week and the next month. I’ve been following this as closely as I could. I walked on court at about 11 All in the fifth. They’re still going. This is absolutely amazing, yeah.
I mean, in a way, I wish I was them, in some ways I wish I wasn’t them. So this is a very special match. I hope somehow this is going to end. I don’t know. They’ll be fresh again tomorrow, I guess. If they have to come back, it’s unbelievable. I don’t know what to say.

Q. Kim says she likes being at Wimbledon because you can set up a family home and go around.
JUSTINE HENIN: Yeah. Yeah, I love. But I see this differently than in the past. I don’t know. It’s like I really open my eyes now. In the past, after the French, usually I’ve played well at the French, and emotionally I was coming here with a lot of pressure. I was No. 1 also at that time.
Now I see really things differently. I mean, I’ve played on Court No. 2. I thought it’s beautiful court and a lot of things have changed. But the atmosphere is just fantastic. You really feel the passion of the game.
It’s true, being at home, that gives something different. At the middle of the season, that’s what you need because it’s already a few tournaments behind you. It’s good that you feel, yeah, with my family also. My sister arrived today, so it’s a nice feeling.

Q. What carries over for you moving forward? That fifth set or the struggles earlier?
ROGER FEDERER: I think you got to be ‑ how do you say ‑ realistic saying like there was a big threat today. I did get lucky today. It’s important to take ‑ how do you say ‑ the right things out of this match. There was positives and negatives, obviously. But then again every player, thank God, in some ways plays different.
The next guy is a righty, big‑serving guy, nothing to do with the guy I played today. Because you struggle today doesn’t mean you’re going to struggle in the next match, too. Same thing if you win in straights; it doesn’t mean you’re going to win the next match in straights. That’s just the way tennis is.

Q. A big court. It was an important opponent. But you seemed to play with no fear out there.
LAURA ROBSON: Uhm, I was a lot more nervous this morning when I woke up, uhm, in a good way. And then when I got onto the court, I was just trying to focus on not losing 6‑Love, 6‑Love. So I think I did pretty well.
Q. Did Jelena offer any words of encouragement after the game, compliment you on your efforts at all?
LAURA ROBSON: Like when do you mean?
Q. After the match, did she compliment you at all.
LAURA ROBSON: I haven’t seen her since the handshake, so no.
Read the rest of this entry »

Weapons: Monster serve, high first serve %, improved backhand and return game, out for vengeance.
Weaknesses: Cursed.

I’m pretty sure even Dick’s biggest haters will be cheering the guy on this year. Possessing one of the biggest serves the game has ever seen, Wimbledon should be the one slam that he’s won. Probably numerous times. Instead he’s made it to the final two on three occasions… and lost every damn time. Hell, last year he won the most games in a grand slam final, and still lost. Here’s hoping that he hasn’t given up, has prepared well, and will serve as well as he did last year.

There was a certain key difference in Andy Roddick’s game that popped up last year. Instead of just being the king of the serve, he worked on his return game with Larry Stefanki. Madness. This meant working on the comical disaster that was the backhand, and using the relatively flat and powerful forehand as a weapon.

I didn’t see the match, but I can tell by the stats that Dick was very much playing a “not lose” kind of match. It’s tough to expect to show up and play live Ivo and win every match on grass. Chances are you’ll run into a hot player, miss a couple first serves, and get broken. And have no chance to get back into it without a return game. And so it goes. Dudi Sela of all people knocked out Dick today, 6-4, 7-6(8).

Dudi served at 63%, won 76% off his first serve and 78% off his second serve. He faced one break point all match and saved it. The conditions have been crap all day, and can definitely be blamed for some of the crazy results today, but Sela is a pretty big server, and the conditions are the same for him. Dick’s gonna need to find some in roads and work on that return game if he wants another legit shot at Wimbledon.

Serena needed to call out the trainer against Pavs in the second set due to her fear of screaming out and transforming into the Hulk. Luckily, it calmed her down, and she took the third set easily. The placebo effect is a glorious thing! She gets the winner of this ridiculous Mono/Shahar match.

The men’s top American was blown off the court by qualifier Gabashvili, who played aggressively, hit tons of winners (and more aces?!) to control play and beat Dick easily. I’m guessing the rain didn’t exactly help Dick, slowing down play and taking any sting out of that serve.

Kind of love how the talk of the Americans was Sam/Tree and maybe how far Dick could get, and it’s turned into a story of the underdog, outside guys like Ginepri, Dent, etc. Pretty awesome.