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Andy Roddick Looks For Tough Times
By Richard Pagliaro
© Western & Southern Financial Group
(August 17, 2010) Illness and fatigue struck Andy Roddick before he returned to the court in Mason, Ohio Monday night. Roddick sounded sick and tired of the reflecting on the mild case of mono he's tried to shed from his system, the malaise in his game that's been tougher to shake and the mounting losses marring a season that started with Roddick playing some of his best tennis in years.
Spiking in the spring, Roddick reached the Indian Wells final in March and beat Tomas Berdych and Rafael Nadal in succession to win Miami in April only to fall from the top 10 in posting a 9-5 record since he tore through the Miami draw in allowing just one set in six tournament wins.
Roddick returned to Cincinnati with a resolution to embrace tough times. Emotionally invested in each point, he found a panacea in winning, wrapping up a 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1 decision over 46th-ranked Sergiy Stakhovsky in the opening round of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters before an enthusiastic group of supporters, including wife Brooklyn Decker and Bengals wide receiver Terrell Owens.
"I wanted to show a little bit of emotion tonight," Roddick said. "You know, I wanted to get the crowd involved. I want to compete. More than anything, I just wanted to compete out there and be tough the whole time."
Tough times demand tenacity, a quality Roddick can recall almost as reliably as an ace down the T.
At his best, Roddick can connect with American crowds and fuel his intensity level further when he plays with the type of passion that excites the fans. In his Wimbledon loss to Yen-Hsun Lu and his 6-3, 6-3 collapse in Washington, DC to Gilles Simon, Roddick was emotionally muted and played the tame type of tennis of a man waiting for his opponents to make a mistake rather than stepping up and seizing the moment himself.
If Roddick is to get back on track in time for the start of the US Open on August 30th, he's got to recognize when he's flat, when he should flat line and be willing to take a bit more risk in his return game. He's got recapture the toughness and tenacity he played with in Indian Wells and Miami.
Roddick hit 10 aces and did not drop serve last night, but converted only three of 12 break points against Stakhovsky, a solid player who won his first ATP title in June, beating Janko Tipsarevic in the ‘s-Hertogenbosch final, but does not exactly dominate on serve.
Still, the fact Roddick was able to shrug off the second-set lapse and cruise through the third is a good sign.
"I don't feel perfect, but good enough," Roddick said. "That third set was actually a blessing in disguise. That's the best I've played in months."
The win sets up a second-round match with Thiemo de Bakker, who beat Juan Monaco, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3 in two hours, 24 minutes. De Bakker is a big server and while Roddick may not get as many looks against the 50th-ranked Dutchman's serve, he's got to try to impose his game more when the chances come.
In Miami, Roddick was effective in playing the score, raising his aggression level when he was playing ahead. In the four months that have passed since, he's been prone to precautionary tennis and looks reluctant to open up off his forehand.
Because his return game is not a strength, the margin of victory in Roddick matches can be as vast as the width of his Babolat string. Roddick has played 29 tie breakers this season, posting a 19-10 record. All the more reason to try to send a message to his opponent, the crowd and himself and regain the fearlessness he displayed in beating Nadal in the Miami semifinals.
Roddick has transformed Cincinnati into a revival ground in the past. In July of 2006, Roddick dropped out of the top 10 for the first time in nearly four years, but joined forces with coach Jimmy Connors to regain his confidence and competitive edge in winning Cincinnati as part of an 18-2 run that culminated with a trip to the US Open final where he fell to Federer.
If Roddick is to make noise at the Open, which begins on his 28th birthday, he's got to make inroads in Cincinnati where fifth-seeded Robin Soderling, second-seeded Novak Djokovic and Washington DC champion David Nalbandian all reside in his congested quarter of the draw.
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