what do you think about Andy Roddick?

Question

these days everybody focus on 2 players:federer and nadal.but they aren't the only 2 talented players i saw in past few years.
i first saw andy playing back in 2001 and i said to my self that this guy is very talented!since then i tried to follow his career and all i can say that he constanly improved his game.
then it was only his serve, forehand and,most of all, the desire to win.now he can hit a backhand not to mention that he is starting to look good at the net,he dare to make a volley.
all this should make him a real grand slam titles challenger!
the things i don't like at andy:
1.lack of flexibility in his strategy, and the most recent example is the wimbledon qf with gasquet when he didn't try anything to stop that fantastic backhand that gasquet used to humiliate him;
2.mental weekness.he can hit an ace when he need the most ,can win the game even from 0-40,but cannot keep the same level 'till the end.and what facing federer meens to him, no comment!

Answer 1

I've had the opportunity to spend time with Andy one-on-one for about 40 minutes so I can give you some personal perspective and then I'll give my opinion on his game.

Personally, he's extremely down to earth and can speak with authority on many different subjects. He's a lot more intelligent and articulate than his brute force game might suggest. You can see it in his wit during interviews. His confidence is infectious and he's VERY personable!

Now about his game. There are two areas that I can see where Andy needs to improve. One, he uses about 5 more degrees less of court than the players who push Roger play with. Two, his serve (I'm sure that's strange to hear but I'll explain)

First the angle:
If you stand on center service line and draw a line from there to the outside corner of the opposite service box on both sides, that's where Andy's range is. You'll RARELY ever see him hit a sharper angle than that.

Conversely, if you watch the players that really challenge Federer, like Nadal, you'll notice that their ranges are about 5 degrees sharper than Andy's. That doesn't sound like much but by the time the ball gets to Roger's baseline, he's way out of position. That's not to suggest that beating Roger is that easy or simple because his ability to defend is brilliant. It IS however just one reason why some players can push Roger with half the firepower than Roddick.

Now his serve:
Like in baseball, no matter how hard Andy serves, when given the opportunity to see it enough times, even lower ranked players will eventually catch up to the speed. If speed were the answer, then he'd never lose. It's his placement. In my opinion, his second serve is the one that most players respect more. Especially when he serves it kicking out wide. It's just nasty. But when he cranks up that first serve, he doesn't pound the lines as well as when he takes a little off. And sometimes he gets grooved into pushing players around a little with sheer power and is unwilling to mix it up more when they finally catch up to it.

Nobody needs a fast serve. If that were the case you'd never see people getting aced with 90-110 mph serves but Agassi routinely did it. Someone blessed with Roddick's power would do well to harness that and unleash it infrequently to prevent the top tier player from seeing it too many times.

To Andy's defense, he HAS worked on the serve a bit but until he starts widening his crosscourt range, he's never going to put the likes of Roger Federer on his heels no matter how much he serves lights out.

One last thing, I think his progression to better serve and volley is brilliant! I've said since I first saw him play that once he harnessed that serve, moving to serve and volley will make him a terror on the court!

IMO (and sorry for the novel I just wrote. LOL)

Answer 2

Andy has improved his game since the last time he won a grand slam (2003). He has a great serve game, but serve
alone cannot get him wins in Grand slam events. He has
improved after getting help from Connors, but he lacks
mentally. He needs to improve on his backhand, serve/volley
game and develop mental toughness. Currently he is no
where close to the top 2 players, Roger and Nadal.
Hard courts will suite him well, and I hope he picks on the areas where he lacks.
Gasquet drilled him in the recent Wimbledon and he clearly
lost his game and as I say he lacked mental toughness.
It looked he was beaten fair and square in that match when
he tried to do too much.
He is great guy and should play doubles to improve serve
and volley game.

Very quickly, Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Baghdatis can beat
him....

Answer 3

I love Andy Roddick. Working with Jimmy Connors has really helped him. Before, Andy focused mostly on his serve. Now, he is being to develop a complete game. There is more to playing tennis than servicing 140 mph aces. He seems to play from behind better. He tends to relax when he is ahead. Wimbledon was a good example. He had a 2-set lead and one break in the third on his opponent and ended up losing his match. Federer and Nadal have great all around games. Once Roddick's all around game is polished, he will add more Grand Slam trophies to his name.

Answer 4

Andy Roddick is a headcase. If anyone has a serve that big, serve and volley more. Come in to the net after a big serve and close out the point. He has all the potentials. But keep staying at the baseline grind out point after point won't win him GS. There are many more players that can rally at the baselines. I just don't unerstand why he elected to stay in the baseline with that big of a serve, even at Wimbledon. That's just ridiculous. If his opponents can return every single of his 1st first with a winner, then give it to them. They deserve to beat Andy. But they are beating him from the baseline in a rally. Serve and come in to the net for god sake ;)

Answer 5

Andy Roddick has the ability to be a solid 3rd in the world right now. His serve is his biggest weapon and second his forehand. But he has his weaknesses. He is inconsistent due to mental weakness like you said.

But until he can manage his game strategies correctly, he will never bet top 4. There are other players with more weapons and better footwork than him.

He needs to develop a serve and volley game like that of Sampras.

Answer 6

Roddick has a good serve, but his backhand (in my opinion) is a liability. His groundstrokes are not terribly consistent, which in turn doesn’t allow him to be flexible depending on his opponent.

With his serve and reach, he may do better to try to become a serve-and-volley player. With the backhand he has, he may want to try.

Answer 7

I think that he is one of the best players in the whole world. He could win many more grand slams if he wanted too.

Answer 8

Roddick and his record-breaking serve. Totally fantastic.
There was once a match, particularly where he kept winning bcoz of his serve.

Answer 9

lost to richard when he was up 2 sets and 4-2

Answer 10

Over rated.