Wednesday 3 September 2008

Here's my kiss of death for A-Rod

Over the past 4 years Roger has made it look so straightforward, that it is easy to forget that winning a Slam is one of the greatest achievements in Sport.

To be come a Grand Slam champion you have to win seven games in thirteen days, beating the best in the world on the way.

The results and performances from an individual round are just a snapshot and can never tell the full story of a Slam. So we shouldn't read too much into the outcome of the past two days.

That said, I can't help but feel that Roddick is in the best shape when you look at the bottom half of the draw.

Federer and Djokovic struggled through in five last night - Roger was mis-firing and Djoko looked dead on his feet at the end - but Roddick eased through in 3 comfortable sets against Gonzo, making only 7 unforced errors.

The odds are still stacked against Roddick winning on Sunday - to pull that off he'll need to beat Djokovic, and then Federer, and then probably Nadal -  but (and I'm sure I'll be eating my words tomorrow) looking at A-Rod's form and confidence, and comparing it with the big 3 , I feel more confident he can go all the way than I did when I put my speculative bet on at 50-1 a couple of weeks ago.

Or maybe that's just wishful thinking...

Either way, as Sky says "it matters more when there's money on it." 

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Decimal odds on Djokovic facing Roddick in Dubai was 1.38. Now adjusted to 1.74, but in my eyes Roddick is favorite to beat Djoko this time.

Gunnar
PS. btw, great blog!

Anonymous said...

Hey Steve! I hope I don't jinx you here, but I wouldn't be shocked if Roddick pulled it off tonight. He's been looking really good this tournament.

freakyfrites said...

I was right there with you, Steve. So I guess it wasn't just you who jinxed him!

What was up with Novak after the match? Seriously INSANE!

Steve said...

Hi Gunnar - thanks for the odds (shame it didnt work out) and for the kind comment. BTW I love Sweden. Stockholm has got to be one of my favourite places.

Hi Freaky - yes insulting the US No 1 in from of an American crowd at the US Open is not a smart move!