Play of the week

Mercedes ATP Play of the week. Andy Roddick v Viktor Troicki. Nice play from A-Rod. He runs down a lob volley from Troicki and spins to hit a winner down the line. Watch it here

A-Rod downed, Nole booed off

Well, it was nice while it lasted but Andy's out and my dreams of a pay out are over. The only crumb of comfort is that we avoid a Federer - Roddick semi in which I would have been torn between heart (Federer getting back on track) and head (money).

I missed the match so haven't got much to say about Djokovic's comments, other than I quite like the Djoker, he's shaken things up, has been good for the game, and has a great back story, growing up in war torn Serbia.

But let's face it, he doesn't do himself any favours. Whether it's the 'hilarious' impressions (stop it Nole, you are killing me!), the endless ball bouncing before serves, or the parents dis-respecting Roger, he has a habit of winding people up.

Now don't get me wrong, a bit of personality goes along way, but he needs to dial it down a bit.

You can hear his court side interviewing where he takes on the crowd and post match interviews with A-Rod and Nole on the BBC

Bring it on

I enjoyed the Olympic tennis, more than I thought, but if I'm honest it's just a warm up event for the US. Sounds crazy but until I started reading the build up on a few of my favourite blogs I'd almost forgotten how much I love the US Open.

The night tennis. The in your face atmosphere. The A list stars dropping in to check out Roger and Rafa or Venus and Serena. And most of all, superb tennis. Think Agassi v Blake, Wilander v Lendl, or Edberg v Chang.

The draw is out and you can get it here and Nick's tennis picks has his usual excellent run down. These are the first round games I'm looking forward to:

Nishikori v Monaco
Roddick v Santoro
Haas v Gasquet
Berdych v Querry
Blake v Young

My money is (literally) on Roddick to win the tournament (50-1 people! what can I say) but if he does make me rich he'll have to do it the hard way. Santoro, Gulbis, Djokovic in the quarters and then Roger if he's still round (I still almost do a double take when tapping those words of doubt about Roger).

Let the games begin...

Did Roddick call it right?

Van is understandably disappointed with Andy Roddick's decision not to represent the US at the Olympics. It says a lot about his game at the moment that he feels he has to write off events, an event that only comes around every 4 years. But I look at Andy Murray's tired, lacklustre performances in Beijing and can't help but think the other Andy made the right call.

I was talking it over with a friend last week and I think Roddick has a real chance at the US Open this year. He's won it once before, and if it wasn't for Federer would have won it again at least once. With Roger no longer invincible (Roddick has already beaten him once this year), and Rafa not being 100% at home on hard court, this year is his best opportunity in a long time.

What's more he's not had to contend with the two long haul flights or crippling humidity, which means he should be great physical condition (provided his back holds up.) The key of course is the draw. Can he avoid Murray, Djoko and Nadal until the final? And can someone else take out Roger before the semi?

Anyway for once I'm going to put my money where my mouth is and I've got great odds: 50 - 1. Please Andy, do it for me!

PS: On the BBC the other day they mentioned that at the Athens games in 2004 the US women's volleyball team had a competition to see who could kiss A-Rod first. Apparently he was chased all over the village. Not sure if this was a factor in his decision not to travel to Beijing…

6-0

Six of the best from the web

* Kamakshi Tandon on tennis.com on the clay season & race for No 1.

* Van at Tennis Talk Anyone bigs up the Davis Cup

* ATP Tennis Blog also has a good Davis Cup preview.

* Nick Bollettierie on Safin's big win in Davis Cup.

* Nate Cunningham praises Roddick's character & personality.

* The Tennis Centre on Davydenko.

Great moments in tennis No 7 - Henman's finest hour

From 1998 to 2004 Tim Henman reaching the semi's or quarters of Wimbledon was a given. It became a summer tradition. The problem for Henman was that after a year or two the public and media took it for granted.

They quickly forgot that for the previous 20 years the closest we'd come to a successful run at Wimbledon from a British tennis player was Jeremy Bates failing to convert a match point against Guy Forget in the 4th round.

Henman's success - lets not forget he was a top 10 player on and off for 7 years - created expectations that sadly he was unable to fulfill. The public willed him to win the tournament. Unfortunately for Henman his time in the game coincided with two of the all time greats, both masters on grass, Sampras and Federer.

This led to him being branded (unfairly) as an under achiever. Personally I think he took what he had and over achieved. But that's a debate for another time.

There were many highs and lows at SW19 but for me Henman's two greatest achievements both occurred in Paris - reaching the semi of the French in 2004 by serve volleying, and winning the indoor Masters event in 2003, one of the biggest events in tennis after the 4 Slams.

En route to the final of the Masters event Henman beat a string of world class players including world No 1's Kuerten, Roddick and Federer, plus Davydenko and Grosjean, dropping only one set.

The final itself was a tight, edgy affair, with Henman unable to reproduce the quality of tennis which swept him to the final. But he disproved those who claimed he lacked a killer instinct, by holding his nerve in two tie breaks, to beat Andrei Pavel 6-2, 7-6, 7-6.

I've searched Youtube but can't find any video footage from the Masters triumph - which tells you all you need to know about our failure in the UK to recognise that the tennis season extends beyond Queens and Wimbledon. But you can read the Guardian's match report for the final here

Respect for Roddick

Seems like my post last night was the kiss of death for Federer with Roddick ending a run of 11 straight defeats to win in 3 (7-6, 4-6, 6-3).

I’m a fully paid up member of the Federer fan club but I’m really pleased for Roddick. I’m sure some will suggest that the result is cheapened by the fact Federer has still not shrugged off his loss of form / fitness / confidence but it is a great result for Roddick.

It’s hard to imagine how tough it must be for Roddick to motivate himself for a game against an opponent who has soundly beaten him so many times before.

But, as I mentioned yesterday, Roddick has never stopped believing. He deserves massive respect and credit for this.

I think credit should also go to Connors. OK, Roddick didn’t win a slam during their time together (but nor did anyone else apart from Roger and Rafa), but Jimmy - as Roddick said himself – instilled both belief and fighting spirit.

Since January Roddick has won 2 tournaments and beaten Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. Disappointing early exits in Melbourne and Indian Wells mean it has not been a perfect start to the year, but Roddick has got his mojo back and shown that on his day he remains a true threat to anyone.

Unfortunately we’re about to enter the clay season, which has never been comfortable time of year for Roddick, but I really hope Roddick can maintain form and momentum and take it into Queens and Wimbledon, and then onto the summer hard court season. Who knows, maybe there's still another slam in him...

Roddick brings out the best in Federer

I'm really looking forward to Roddick v Federer tonight. Federer has a 15 - 1 advantage over Roddick but their matches have produced some world class tennis over the years. My favourites include the masterclass Federer served up in the semi of the 2007 Australian Open; and the 2004 Wimbledon Final.

Roddick is often (unfairly?) portrayed as a one dimensional, one slam wonder. But say what you like the guy has got game - if it wasn't for Federer he'd probably won another 3 slams by now - and heart, he keeps coming back for more. And keeps believing he is going to win.

Unfortunately his best efforts - and Roddick always gives it his all - come up short. But fortunately, for the rest of us, Roddick invariably brings out the best in Federer.

There's no better example of this than the video below of a rally I think is from Basel in 2001 or 2002. Roddick is all over Federer at the net, and goes to put away a smash. No other man alive could get the ball pack in play let alone hit a winner.

Hat tip to Gammler26 for the video.

Who is defending what in Miami?

Murray's failure to close out against Ancic yesterday means he will slip out of the top 20 when the updated rankings are published next Monday. Murray is defending 250 ranking points following his run to the semi's last year.

It will be the first time he's been out of the top 20 for nearly 2 years. And as the Telegraph points out Murray's drop in the rankings means that he now faces the prospect of not being seeded at the coming clay-court Masters Series events in Monte Carlo, Rome and Hamburg. So if he is unlucky he could get a top 5 player in the first round.

The good news is that Murray's absence from the French Open and Wimbledon last year means he has no points to defend and is likely to climb back up the rankings if he can go deep in both tournaments.

Murray ranking problem prompted me to look up who is defending what in Miami. It makes for interesting reading:

Djokovic - champion 500 pts already out, second round

Canas - final 350 pts

Murray - Semi 225 pts already out, second round

Ljubicic - Semi 225 pts

Roddick - Quarter final 125 pts

Robredo - Quarter final 125 pts

Chela - Quarter final 125 pts

Nadal - Quarter final 125 pts

Federer - 4th round 75 pts

Davydenko 3rd round 35 pts

Nalbandian 3rd 35 pts

Safin - 2nd round 20 pts already out, first round

It’s over for Roddick and Connors

I guess it was never going to last for ever. Apparently Connors wants to spend more time with the family. Here’s Roddick’s take on Connors’ return to retirement:

"He's helped my backhand a ton. I mean, it's a different shot than when we got together. It's a lot more solid. And just that fighting spirit.

When we got together, I was as close to down and out as I've been. I spent the week after Wimbledon almost as close to depressed as I've been as far as my career goes. And I really credit him for that spark and getting me back into the top five and in a Slam final pretty close there afterwards."

The LA Times meanwhile suggest that what Roddick has learned from Connors is how to ‘throw one nasty tantrum’, reminding us of Roddick’s abuse of the umpire at the Australian Open:

Roddick, to umpire Emmanuel Joseph: "You're an idiot."

Roddick to the fans: "Stay in school kids, or you'll end up being an umpire"