new articles
the quotes are mostly the same but there are a few new ones in each of them so i'm gonna post them all
he talks about the knee, AO and
Wimbledon 
Roddick can't escape Fed's stranglehold
JIM MORTON
December 31, 2009 - 6:39PM
AAP
It's been six months since Andy Roddick's heart-breaking Wimbledon final loss to grand nemesis Roger Federer.
With the calender now changing, Roddick admits he has a sense of perspective about the haunting near miss against a man who has single-handedly denied him four grand slam titles.
He prefers to look positively at the achievement of making a Wimbledon final and playing a record long deciding set.
"My worst day, as far, is the way I feel after that match, is a lot of people's dream, that's not lost on me," Roddick said on Thursday as he prepared for his return from injury at the Brisbane International.
"It's like anything that's hard in anyone's life. You just keep going and do the things you enjoy and slowly maybe I'll only think about it four times today."
One of tennis's most endearing and enduring characters, Roddick showed he was in good form on and off the court despite ending 2009 with a three-month layoff with a knee problem.
The tournament top seed and main men's drawcard, the 27-year-old will start 2010 "chomping at the bit" in Brisbane and confident he will be a genuine contender at the Australian Open.
The knee, unstrapped during a sharp hour-long hit with defending champion Radek Stepanek at Pat Rafter Arena, isn't perfect but it won't hinder him on court, Roddick says.
"It's coming around all right," the American said.
"It was disappointing to finish the year like I did, especially considering I felt like I was having a really good year until the injury came about.
"That was disappointing but on the flipside I'm probably a little bit more mentally rested than a lot of these guys, maybe a little bit more eager to get out here.
"I've been playing a lot. I'm definitely not coming in under-practiced.
"I feel like I'm hitting the ball really well in practise it's just a matter of getting that to translate."
Considering he has long been one of the biggest servers in the game, it's remarkable Roddick has never suffered a right shoulder injury, and partly put his fortune down to a tip from Andre Agassi.
"One thing I have been smart about, and actually Andre taught met: 'Listen to your body. You don't have to be a hero every day you step out there'," he said.
"Maybe you'll lose something short term but as long as you heal properly and give yourself a chance to be better long-term."
The world No.1 in 2003 after he won the US Open, Roddick said his 2009 record, including a fourth Australian Open semi-final appearance, gave him extra belief he can claim a second career grand slam title - possibly in Melbourne.
"Obviously I feel like maybe I could have played a final there before," he said.
"It hasn't quite happened but there's not a lot of people walking around that can say - there's probably one that's active right now (Federer) - that they've played in four semi-finals.
"It could be better and I want it to be better."
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news...1231-lkus.html
Andy Roddick nearing peak fitness
PAUL MALONE
December 31, 2009 04:40pm
ANDY Roddick dispelled lingering fitness doubts over his Brisbane International campaign, but conceded his knee would be more ready in two weeks time at the Australian Open.
Roddick withdrew from his last three tournamwents of the year with a knee injury suffered in early October, presenting him with a different task in preparing to start the next season as top seed for the Brisbane International, which starts on Sunday.
The Wimbledon runner-up drove himself through a second practice session at Pat Rafter Arena this afternoon and said he was regaining a range of movement with a knee which was too painful for permit him to contest the ATP World Finals in late November.
"I don't know if it will be perfect for a while, but it's close," Roddick, the world No7, said.
"It's a matter of getting a range of motion back. As far as running and drills, I don't feel feel anything. It's nothing to do with power or the way it feels when I'm running.
"It was disappointed to finish the year like I did, especially considering I felt like I was having a really good year. But on the flipside, I'm more mentally ready and eager than some of these guys. I haven't played a match in three months.
"But I'm not coming in under-practised and I'm hitting the ball really well in practice."
Roddick said he considered himself an Australian Open contender and planned to use Brisbane as his own tournament before the Australian Open starts on January 18.
The American, who fell short of beating Roger Federer in their Wimbledon final last July, said every day made it more easy for him to rationalise the disappointment of a third loss in the Wimbledon title-deciding match.
"You think a little less about it every day and slowly you maybe only think about it four times a day," he quipped.
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/s...-12428,00.html
Unfinished business for A-Rod
CHRIS BARRETT
December 31, 2009 - 4:08PM
Wimbledon heartbreak kid Andy Roddick believes the hallowed grass courts of the All England Club remain his best chance to lift a long-awaited second grand slam trophy.
But the American world number seven says he is a "legitimate contender" in three of the four majors.
Roddick, the men's top seed for next week's Brisbane International, admits he is still haunted by the circumstances of his defeat to Roger Federer in this year's famous Wimbledon final.
He was finally floored 16-14 in the fifth set in what was, in terms of games, the longest men's singles final in grand slam history.
However, Roddick has arrived for the Australian summer with renewed determination to add to his only slam to date, the 2003 US Open.
"For me it's been the same goal for a long time - trying to win another grand slam," he said.
"At this point in my career I think I'm less concerned whether I finish the year (ranked) four or seven or whatever it is. It's more just about putting yourself in position to win big tennis tournaments."
Roddick has fallen to Federer at the final hurdle in four grand slam deciders - three at Wimbledon and one at Flushing Meadows - but never had he come as close as the June cliff-hanger.
The 27-year-old won much praise for his graciousness in defeat.
Beneath the forced smile, though, the pain still lingers even when he tries to talk his way out of it with humility.
"It's tough," Roddick said.
"First and foremost I think having a sense of perspective about it is pretty important. Being able to play in a Wimbledon final is pretty amazing.
"My worst day as far is the way I feel after a match is a lot of people's dream," he said.
"On the flipside you think about it a little bit less every day. It's like anything that's hard in anyone's life.
"You just keep going and do the things you enjoy and slowly ... maybe I'll only think about it four times today."
At Melbourne Park, Roddick has been a semi-finalist four times.
But he concedes it is at Wimbledon where his grand slam hopes remain most healthy, despite the continuing presence of Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Still, Roddick maintains he is capable of bettering his Australian Open record this year.
"I consider myself a legitimate contender in probably three out of the four (grand slams)," he said. "Maybe grass (is my best chance), just because I feel like it's a surface that not a lot of people learn to play on (and) I've certainly had years of experience.
"But I'm certainly comfortable on any of the harder surfaces as well."
They include, he says, the plexicushion of Melbourne, where he has unfinished business after semi-final exits in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009.
"I feel like maybe I could have played a final there before," he said.
"It hasn't quite happened but there's not a lot of people walking around that can say ... that they've played in four semi-finals."
Roddick's appearance in Brisbane marks his return to the ATP Tour after an extended absence with a knee injury sustained in Shanghai in October.
He said the knee was "coming around all right" and his time away from the tour had in fact allowed him to complete a more comprehensive off-season than in previous years.
"I'm definitely not coming in under-practiced. That's for sure," he said.
"I probably played more tennis this December than I have in the last couple of years."
Roddick chose to begin his comeback in Brisbane rather than the Qatar Open, where Federer, Nadal and fellow top-10 players Nikolay Davydenko and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are all playing next week.
But Roddick highly rates the field assembled at the Queensland Tennis Centre.
"I think it's a very deep field," Roddick said.
"Players like [Richard] Gasquet ... top 15, top 20 his entire career and due to some unfortunate circumstances he's kind of floating in the field somewhere.
"The hardest time to predict the form of players is this time of the year. You have no idea what anybody did on their off time," he said.
"The only person I know what they did this off-season is me, so it's tough to predict the form of anyone else."
The Brisbane International draw takes place on Saturday. Play begins on Sunday.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/spor...1231-lksv.html
plus video of Andy arriving to Brisbane
http://news.yahoo.com/video/sports-15749645/17369704 
and a bunch of practice pics here
http://smpimages.com/albums.php?albumId=99516
The "let's erase the last 6 months from our minds" Australian Swing Thread
The "let's erase the last 6 months from our minds" Australian Swing Thread
to (in no particular order): BryOns
| Mandy | MarTy | Isner | Dent | Querrey | Baghdatis | Delic | Oli | N&o | Gasquet | Ferrero | Levine | Malisse | LUX | Melzer | Moya | Nishikori | Haas | Grosjean | Ancic | Mathieu | Calleri | Bolelli | Sela | Blake | more...
*hears birds chirping*
Good 
&Michael Owen 
