US Open 2010 - Does Andy Roddick have a clue?

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After watching Andy Roddick being given a tennis lesson by Serbian Janko Tipsarevic on controlled aggression and a scoreline of 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(4) for the Serbian, I had to find out, why?

What Janko Tipsarevic had to say did not surprise me:

- 'I was playing a little bit more risky (in the third set), but I don't feel that I was rushing too much. I was trying that in the first set, and I played a really good first three games and then I made two mistakes... and there's the break. Of course, I made a couple of unbelievable shots from back of the court, but most of the winners that I made I was stepping in and being close to the line. That's the point on the court where I'm most dangerous.'

On the other hand what Andy Roddick had to say completely floored me!

Andy Roddick;

'On my little cheat sheet that (coach) Larry (Stefanki), and I put together, I wanted to keep my unforced errors down, which I did.

He's going to take big swings at the ball. I wanted to make him do that from stretch positions, maybe on the move; I did that. I wanted to get a very high percentage of returns in play; I did that... He played very high risk and executed for four sets. I kept telling myself, 'This has to have an expiration date on it.' Unfortunately, I needed another set for that.'.

Does Andy Roddick have a clue about what he said?

The 'plan' was to get a high percentage of returns in play and keep unforced errors low and wait for Janko to miss, great!

But what did Andy Roddick forget in the plan?

- His first serve! In one of the fastest tennis courts in the world, Roddick at 6 ft. 2 in. ( 1.88 metres ) tall edged Tipsarevic a 5 ft. 11 in. ( 1.8 metres ) 17 to 16 aces! Roddick should have been less worried with percentages, have thrown caution to the wind and served 40 aces instead! That is why he has a BIG serve, to hit aces!

- The serve and volley! In a super fast court like the one he played on at the US Open, with an opponent totally stretched out on the returns, you DO NOT wait for the ball to bounce! You run straight at it (go after it) and put it away with decisive volleys!

- To get inside the court! A big slow man like Roddick can not afford to stay 6 to 12 feet behind the baseline, especially with someone who is at least 30 percent faster then him! You must hug the line and take control and muscle your opponent from there and inside the line! The plan of, 'keep my unforced errors down' and hope for your opponents mistakes is just wishful thinking not professional tennis!

- To attack/approach down the line or down the middle from difficult positions! When is Roddick going to learn?

- To take on Tipsarevic's serve close to the baseline and second serves completely inside the line and spank them from there! That is what I call pressuring your opponent.

Of course this goes on and on...the volleys...but yes, I made my point and the question remains Does Andy Roddick have a clue?

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