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Impressive job by Andy Roddick yesterday.

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patdog

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He took out #3 ranked Novak Djokovic 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, 2-1 (retired) yesterday. Roddick has gotten a new coach, who he's apparently actually listening to, and has lost 10-15 pounds without losing any of his power. He's playing the best tennis he's played in years. This match was also a classic example of why Djokovic will never be an elite player. He was struggling with the heat (it was over 100 degrees) and retired as soon as his serve was broken in the 4th set. I can't imagine Nadal or Federer retiring in that situation. Djokovic has no heart.

After his match, I thought he'd have a great chance to beat Federer in the semis. Then I watched Federer beat Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 6-0, 6-0 in not much more than an hour (and del Potro is a good player). I'm not quite as confident about Roddick's chances after seeing that. But the way he's playing, who knows? It should be a good match.
 
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patdog

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He took out #3 ranked Novak Djokovic 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, 2-1 (retired) yesterday. Roddick has gotten a new coach, who he's apparently actually listening to, and has lost 10-15 pounds without losing any of his power. He's playing the best tennis he's played in years. This match was also a classic example of why Djokovic will never be an elite player. He was struggling with the heat (it was over 100 degrees) and retired as soon as his serve was broken in the 4th set. I can't imagine Nadal or Federer retiring in that situation. Djokovic has no heart.

After his match, I thought he'd have a great chance to beat Federer in the semis. Then I watched Federer beat Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 6-0, 6-0 in not much more than an hour (and del Potro is a good player). I'm not quite as confident about Roddick's chances after seeing that. But the way he's playing, who knows? It should be a good match.
 
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dawgatUSM

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Roddick was playing in those same conditions, and he just showed that he was in much better shape. We'll see how that translates against Federer.
 
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Optimus Prime 4

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and not that it still wasn't difficult for Roddick, but he had the advantage, growing up and training in Texas and Florida.

Maybe Djokovic is not well prepared, or simply a *****.
 
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birdZdawg

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patdog

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But I have a hard time believing that it's just a coincidence that the moment he succumbed to the heat and just couldn't go on was the exact moment he got his serve broken in the 4th set. And as somebody else pointed out, he has a history of just quitting when things aren't going his way.

When Victoria Azarenka had to retire from the heat the day before, she was actually up a set over Serena Williams but she was so dizzy from the heat I thought she might fall down (not to mention that she'd been sick and throwing up all morning before the match). She had tried to continue playing against the trainer's advice but just physically couldn't. That girl fought like hell and had to retire. Djokovic didn't look nearly as bad as she looked 1/2 hour before she quit. If he'd fought half as hard as she did, he'd have finished the 4th set and taken his loss like a man.
 
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lawdawg02

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both seem to be playing well right now. federer had the two-sets-down comeback, then absolutely destroys del potro. double bagels in a grand slam quarter? damn. roddick, meanwhile, appears to be playing his best tennis of the last couple of years. he's moving around the court and playing the net much better.

i'm glad these two guys are starting the year on a strong note. it's great for tennis, and for those who have davis cup tickets, you can't help but get even more excited.

that said, i hope federer kicks roddick's ***, then beats nadal's *** for the title.</p>
 
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VegasDawg13

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patdog said:
He took out #3 ranked Novak Djokovic 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, 2-1 (retired) yesterday. Roddick has gotten a new coach, who he's apparently actually listening to, and has lost 10-15 pounds without losing any of his power. He's playing the best tennis he's played in years.
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I'm not saying you're wrong, and hopefully you aren't. But don't we hear this every other year or so? "Roddick has a new coach, and he's more focused than he's ever been." Then Federer hands his *** to him aGAIN.
 
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patdog

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because he runs them off because he thinks he knows better than them how he needs to play. The difference this time is, he's actually playing better. That hasn't been the case with any of his coaches since he fired Brad Gilbert (worst mistake of his career). And he's also obviously lost at least 10 pounds, which means he's gotten himself a lot fitter than he's ever been. He wasn't fazed at all by the heat that forced Djokovic to retire.
 
msudawg12

msudawg12

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It is impossible to validly defend Djokovic through court temperatures. Roddick played on the same court even taking the time to switch sides with him every now and then to make sure Djokovic's side wasn't hotter than his. Excuses are weak.

Saying Roddick had the advantage training in Florida and Texas isnt good enough either. Djokovic has played in this tournament before. It gets hot there. They knew this. He should've prepared himself.

In reference to dawgstudent, it was freaking hilarious the comments that went back and forth between Roddick and Djokovic last year
 
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patdog

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msudawg12 said:
it was freaking hilarious the comments that went back and forth between Roddick and Djokovic last year
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How bout the comments between Roddick and Serena Williams this year? At Serena's press conference a few days ago someone asked her what her biggest win was. She said that when she was younger she had beaten Andy Roddick and they should ask him about it. So they ask Roddick about it. He says it was when he was 10 years old and about as big as a toothpick and Serena was already bench pressing Mack trucks, then complains that she won't give him a rematch. They were both having a lot of fun with it.
 
msudawg12

msudawg12

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i never saw that or heard anything about it, I wish I would have, does anyone have video of this?
 
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patdog

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He's not a huge favorite of mine, but the way he's playing right now, he's better than anybody else out there except Nadal and Federer.
 
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whatever.sixpack

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Pat, you think Djokovic isn't an elite player but Roddick is? Djokovic finished 3rd in the world last year, won a slam and the masters cup in an era with arguably 2 of the top 10 players of all time (or top 5 before it's all said and done)
Plus he's 21 years old, so he'll be around. He's a better tennis player than Roddick, and was pushing him around from the baseline until he got too hot. Count me in the camp that thinks this new fitness regime of Roddick's is overrated, for a Slam he's had a really, really good draw until the quarters.
Until he can keep control of points with his backhand instead of having it be a liability by neutralizing the point each time he hits one, he won't win another Slam
 
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Mr Meoff

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boo the Djoker unmercifully. You don't see tennis crowds booing players much anymore. Pretty funny.
 
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patdog

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Roddick's been there, Djokovic hasn't (and for the record, Roddick hasn't been an elite player for several years now). No doubt Djokovic is a great player, and if he ever had the heart to match his talent, he'd have a chance to get to #1. As he matures, he may learn to fight and get there. But right now, he's just a coward who quits when the going gets tough. And no, he wasn't "pushing Roddick around" early in that match. It was a dead even match in the first set that Djokovic won 7-6 in a tiebreaker.</p>
 
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whatever.sixpack

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Not an elite player until you get to #1? So Nadal wasn't elite until the end of last year even though he'd already won 3 straight at Roland Garros and at Wimby?
That's just a he said she said thing though anyway, b/c I'd consider anyone that is capable of winning a Slam elite, and to me, that's four guys and four guys only right now.
And Djokovic was pushing Andy around in the baseline rallies. Once the point became neutral, Djokovic controlled 70% of them and went on to dominate that first set tiebreak.
To me, what was the deal w/ deciding to close the roof for Serena's match but not the night before? They need a rule, if it gets this hot, we close it. B/c I think Djokovic wins that match at night or w/ a closed roof.
 
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patdog

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Until last year, he'd never won anything on any surface other than clay and had never made it even to the semis of a hardcourt major. And he's still never even made it to the finals of a hardcourt major (that will change tomorrow though). He was easily the dominant clay court player in the world, but on any other surface, he was average. To his credit, he's worked his *** off to become a dominant player and even after getting to #1, he's still working to improve.

And Djokovic was pushing Andy around in the baseline rallies. Once the point became neutral, Djokovic controlled 70% of them and went on to dominate that first set tiebreak.
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If Djokovic controlled 70% of the "neutral" points in that first set, Roddick must have had the upper hand in a lot more points than Djokovic did to get it to a tiebreaker. The fact is, BEFORE the heat was a factor, this was a dead-even match. Djokovic is just using the heat as an excuse for getting his *** kicked. There's not a player on tour who retires from matches more often than he does. And the reason for that is mental, not physical.
 
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lawdawg02

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just curious. he was a great clay courter and was ranked #1, but his best hard court performance was a win at cincinnati. no better than the quarters at any other slam, i think.

and are you using "elite" to mean one of the top players in the world at the time, or does "elite" mean to be included in discussions of the best tennis players ever? there are several players who have been number one at one time or another that don't deserve to be in that discussion. safin, moya, ferrero, kafelnikov, rafter, etc.
 
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patdog

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As for reaching #1, I don't think you necessarily have to reach #1 to be an elite player (Nadal did become an elite player before he reached #1 and was probably borderline elite by the beginning of last year). I just don't see Djokovic ever getting higher than #3 unless he pulls an Andre Aggasi and grows a heart. In fact, Murray will take #3 from him before too much longer if he doesn't grow a heart (Djokovic is going to lose a lot of ranking points on Monday when his 08 Aussie Open win drops off and is replace by his QF loss this year while Murray will pick up ranking points).
 
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whatever.sixpack

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If Djokovic controlled 70% of the "neutral" points in that first set, Roddick must have had the upper hand in a lot more points than Djokovic did to get it to a tiebreaker. The fact is, BEFORE the heat was a factor, this was a dead-even match. Djokovic is just using the heat as an excuse for getting his *** kicked. There's not a player on tour who retires from matches more often than he does. And the reason for that is mental, not physical.
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Yeah, I think Roddick's serve puts him on offense more than just about every player in tennis, and he has the best 2nd serve in the game.
If you start the point w/ a feed or ground stroke, I think Djokovic takes 65-70% of the points, and I think he wins anyway w/ the roof closed.

And the talk about who is elite is vague anyway, the top 300 guys in the world could be elite to me while only 2-5 could be elite to someone else. IMHO, you're elite if you're capable of winning ANY slam on ANY surface, b/c there are so few guys out there that are capable of winning a Slam, unlike golf, where someone you've never heard of or will hear of again can win on any given week that Tiger isn't playing well.
 
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lawdawg02

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If you start the point w/ a feed or ground stroke, I think Djokovic takes 65-70% of the points, and I think he wins anyway w/ the roof closed.</p>
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that's like saying "if you could only shoot threes, we would've beaten lsu."

there are a lot of players who could beat roddick in a baseline ground stroke competition. that doesn't make them better players than roddick - the serve is the most important part the game for every player. if you can win your serve every time, you will never lose a tennis match.
 
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