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Starting off 2011 Down Under

22K views 193 replies 31 participants last post by  OnyxRose 
#1 ·
Well it's that time again. Andy's in Brisbane practicing and says it's the first time since last May that he's felt 100% healthy...

 
#160 ·
Just offering my two cents, Deb, haha. Honestly though I can't think of anything else that would change this up. Andy's such a blockhead sometimes. It's as if he totally enjoys running full speed ahead into a brick wall over and over again and then after it happens he says "I didn't know it was there."

I agree, I can't quit him either.
 
#162 ·
oh totally, I wish changing coaches would help him. We've talked about how great it would be for him to see a sports psychologist for YEARS I feel like. it's frustrating. But I also understand how it feels to be in a situation where you know you need to make changes but don't feel like you can. It's easy for us to sit here and say stuff and i know i'm guilty of it myself, but i'm kind of the same as Andy in a lot of ways. I know there are things I need to do to better my life and for various reasons/excuses I have a hard time getting myself to do it. doesn't make it any less frustrating for us.

Well, it is only my opinion. I'm saying it again, maybe he has some kind of personal problems, who knows!? Deboogle, watch the match, the tape. You will see him leaving balls passing him. He didn't even chase every ball. He did not seem pumped up at all. Somethimes he had 15-30, 0-30, not a single "come on!" or fist pump. Just to show Stan that he is not out. He did not even broke a raquet or get angry ot something like that. Andy was as lethargic as ever. He had opportunities even in the 3rd set, I got the impression that he did not want to convert.

Again, this is just my opinion.
Oh it's not that I don't believe you, but like you said maybe there is something else going on that we don't know about. or again maybe he just didn't think he could do it for some reason. Who knows, who knows.
 
#161 ·
Well, it is only my opinion. I'm saying it again, maybe he has some kind of personal problems, who knows!? Deboogle, watch the match, the tape. You will see him leaving balls passing him. He didn't even chase every ball. He did not seem pumped up at all. Somethimes he had 15-30, 0-30, not a single "come on!" or fist pump. Just to show Stan that he is not out. He did not even broke a raquet or get angry ot something like that. Andy was as lethargic as ever. He had opportunities even in the 3rd set, I got the impression that he did not want to convert.

Again, this is just my opinion.
 
#163 ·
Honestly, it had to do with completly getting outclassed shot for shot. After the first set when he had to work so hard to hold serve and then lost it he was totally deflated. In reality he had 0-30 maybe twice the entire match, not much you can do there. When he is not comfortable with his best shot ie. the serve, then nothing else goes right for him, happens everytime. Plus he leaves balls all the time, it's one of the most frustrating things about being an Andy fan so that is nothing new. He didn't get angry because there was nothing to get angry about, sometimes you just have to put your hands up and say too good which is exactly what happened.

I do tend to wonder about the personal aspect as well. It can't be easy being a part of a "celebrity couple." Not to mention Brooklyn's career is taking off and Andy is going to have to go into career reevaluation mode. Please don't misunderstand me, I love Brooklyn and think she's great and has been great for him but at the same time he doesn't like the media attention in his personal life and the papparazzi and Brook's about to roll out her new movie..who knows.
 
#165 ·
I still say it is between the ears. maybe, Andy does not realize this....seeking help for his mental fitness would be good for him. He worked hard for his physical fitness and the backhand, the volleys, he forgot the mental.....I hope he is not feeling too badly...poor Andy. It makes me sad.
 
#167 ·
Eeeeek, since the '09 Wimbledon Final, Andy has only made it past the first week 1/6 slams...

2011
AUS: 4th Round (Wawrinka)

2010
US: 2nd Round (Tipsarevic)
Wimbledon: 4th Round (Lu)
French: 3rd Round (Gabashvili)
AUS: Quarter Final (Cilic)

2009
US: 3rd Round (Isner)
Wimbledon: Final (Federer)
French: 4th Round (Monfils)
AUS: Semi Final (Federer)

2008
US: Quarter Final (Djokovic)
Wimbledon: 2nd Round (Tipsarevic)
French: ---
AUS: 3rd Round (Kohlschreiber)

[
 
#168 ·
As much as I'm po'd at Andy, I do still feel for him, especially with the way everyone is basically laying the decline of American tennis at his feet. When he and the Williams retire, it's going to be even bleaker and you can see it with Andy sucking and the WS injured. Sam is the epitome of not caring and John is really where he is supposed to be. He's not top 10 material, in my eyes. Jury is still out on Harrison but I think the next American great is someone who isn't known yet. I guess what's making everyone upset is not that Andy lost but how he's losing. He just needs to forget about everything and just go for his shots. He's at the end and I think he just finally resigned himself to that fact this week. He has nothing to lose by just going for it. The way he's playing now isn't doing anything for him except causing frustration and earlier exits at tournaments.
 
#170 ·
I guess what's making everyone upset is not that Andy lost but how he's losing. He just needs to forget about everything and just go for his shots. He's at the end and I think he just finally resigned himself to that fact this week. He has nothing to lose by just going for it. The way he's playing now isn't doing anything for him except causing frustration and earlier exits at tournaments.
You are absolutely right.

It feels like the first half of 2006. Maybe it is too early for such a statement, but stil...The thing is, Andy is not 23 anymore. I can't see something chancge. And I can't see who is going to play the role Jimmy played in Andy career back then.
 
#171 · (Edited)
adfghjklkjhgfdsa this article is made of win. :bowdown: :bigcry:

Where Have You Gone, Andy Roddick?
By Greg Couch

MELBOURNE, Australia – Andy Roddick has been coached to death. He is a wild animal who, trying to get a little control of himself, has allowed himself to be trained into a house pet. Sit Andy, sit.
Roddick’s career doesn’t have to be over. All of his skills are still there, and he has even added some. But he doesn’t contend in the majors anymore, and doesn’t even reach the quarterfinals.

“Conditions were colder, so slice wasn’t really working,” he said Sunday after losing to Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in the fourth round of the Australian Open. “I wasn’t able to get the ball to jump much, so a lot of the shots he hit were in his pocket and…”

Oh my God. If this is the new and improved Andy Roddick, then I liked him better the old way, when he was the dumbest tennis player on earth. The guy has a 140 mph serve and he’s talking about cold weather and slice?

Well, Roddick is out, as is every American player, man or woman. Or in Roddick’s case, puppy.

This is all wrong. Roddick isn’t just losing every important match. Roddick has lost Roddick.

At one point, he had a presence. He fought to the death, had a loud persona on court, crushed the ball. He was your All-American tennis player, with passion overwhelming thoughts.

Now, he powderpuffs his forehand, keeps his backhand in play, waits for his opponent to miss.

In tennis terms, he is a dinker.

It doesn’t work. He bashes his massive serve, and if it’s an ace, then great, point over. That’s what people see of him. But when his serve is returned, it usually is floated back short and soft, setting Roddick up to bash a forehand and bully his opponent.

Instead, he steps and loops a soft, spinny forehand, immediately handing back control of a point.

Why?

Wawrinka played him the way any good player will. He moved in on the return to cut off angles on Roddick’s serve. Then, he just bunted back his return. There was no pressure on him to do more.

I was one of the early ones to complain about Roddick’s dumb tennis. First time I saw him in person, he lost to Pete Sampras in the U.S. Open. It was supposed to be a torch-passing from old guy to young.

Then Sampras rolled Roddick, who stayed 15 feet behind the baseline and never… changed… one… thing while he got crushed.

Eventually, the cries came from everywhere for him to actually develop a game plan, not to mention a backhand. He has gone through years of different coaches, and non-coaches and stubbornness. He finally landed on Larry Stefanki, who helped to reinvent a thinner, fitter Roddick with good footwork, a decent backhand and an ability to mix things up some.

Roddick nearly beat Roger Federer in a classic Wimbledon final. Remember? He has reached just one quarterfinal in a major since then.

Let me start a new cry. Stop thinking, Andy. Swing as hard as you can on your forehand.

And stop taking that big, looping, flipping backswing to get spin. Pull the racquet back, then drive through the ball, the way you did when you beat Rafael Nadal in Miami last year.

Since then, Roddick went into a match at the French Open totally defeated, assuming he was going to lose. At Wimbledon, he couldn’t put away a nobody in the fifth set. At the U.S. Open, he lost to Janko Tipsarevic, berating and bullying a line judge for correctly calling a footfault on him, but accidentally identifying the wrong foot.

Tipsarevic noted that Roddick’s forehand used to scare people.

What sort of fear did Wawrinka have about that forehand? Before the match, he was practicing with his left hand. Was it some sort of defensive posture?

“I’m practicing a little bit because I make a bet with a friend in the summer,” Wawrinka said. “I need to play a match against him with my left hand, so that’s why I’m practicing every day.”

Roll over, Andy. Roll over.

The debate about Roddick has still not been decided. Has he overachieved, spending a decade in the top 10 without a ton of talent? Or is he an underachiever, winning a major and then climbing to No. 1, briefly, when he was young then never winning another major again?

I go with the second one. He never built on his talent, as the top tier of talent, Roger Federer and Nadal established a higher level of Tier 1.

Now, Roddick is not a threat in majors to Tier 1, and not even to the top challengers, Tier 2.

Roddick is 28, ranked No. 8, and in Tier 3 and falling. And he’s worried about his inability to hit his slice.

He has taken the blame for all that is wrong with American tennis. That’s because he hasn’t lived up to Sampras and Andre Agassi. Give him this, though: He’s the only American man good enough to get himself into position to be criticized.

Honestly, I don’t know if he has the fortitude to win another major no matter what he does. But I’m positive he can’t out-think Federer and can’t out-rally Nadal.

Either Stefanki has taken this project way too far or Roddick is ignoring him. We can’t know for sure.

But here’s to hoping that he doesn’t just let his career wind down this way. Next time someone tells him to sit, he should show his teeth again and bite someone’s hand off. If that doesn’t work, well, at least he takes some flesh with him.

http://tennis.fanhouse.com/2011/01/24/where-have-you-gone-andy-roddick/
 

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#176 ·
That article is all too true.

And I'm even more annoyed now that I saw the shitastic play Stan displayed against Roger. :rolleyes:
 
#179 ·
He didn't really care when he played the 2004 Australian Open.
He just obsessed about money & superficial crap.
Jimmy Connors already said Andy was an old dog that couldn't learn in 2008.
Rodd's emotion control & intellect declined 6 years ago.
He should've retired 5 years ago. Puppies are smarter.
 
#181 ·
I didn't see much of this match at all, but for some reason it reminds me of the Wimbledon match he lost to Gasquet - as in, oh he's killing me with his backhand, so I'll keep hitting there. I don't understand why/how he gets into that thought pattern, but it makes me want to grab him by the shoulders and shake him vigorously (which of course, he would hardly feel at all).
 
#184 · (Edited)
Re-watching parts of Andy's 2003 Australian open matches. So different, yet so good.

Right now he is playing like its his job.
I want to see him to play like he loves it ...before it is too late.:awww:
Seems there is no happiness just to be there, at all.
It ends up every match is a dodged bullet or pitiful/astounding loss.






 
#185 ·
Re-watching parts of Andy's 2003 Australian open matches. So different, yet so good.

Right now he is playing like its his job.
I want to see him to play like he loves it ...before it is too late.:awww:
Seems there is no happiness just to be there, at all.
It ends up every match is a dodged bullet or pitiful/astounding loss.


it is sad to see him no happiness play right now.

Yes I really want to see Andy play like 2003 the old good day.
 
#191 ·
I know some Roddick fans are upset that Djokovic might win his second slam before Andy does but personally I am excited about the Muzzole final. It's nice to have a Fedal-free final for once, even though I would've loved to see Rafa get his Rafa slam. Definitely rooting for Novak to win, I don't think his winning a second slam has any bearing on Roddick. Who knows maybe Novak winning will inspire Andy? :shrug:
 
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