This was always going to be a dangerous match for Roddick. He also lost to Tipsarevic in the second round of the 2008 Wimbledon, but it was the way he played that was most baffling.
Roddick hasn’t had a great summer, and recently admitted that he had a mild case of the debilitating mononucleosis.
It’s disappointing to watch Roddick, who once had one of the biggest forehands in tennis, stand so far behind the baseline, and play so conservatively. One would expect a player who isn’t 100% fit to use all the weapons he has to get as many free points as possible. The post match statistics ultimately justified the outcome, with Tipsarevic registering more winners, and incredibly more aces than the number-one ranked American.
The match had a similar feel to Roddick’s shock fourth round Wimbledon exit to little know Taiwanese player LU YEN-HSUN, where Roddick was content to loop his forehand and chip his backhand, enabling Yen-hsun to dictate play. The magnitude of that loss was realized when NOVAK DJOKOVIC crushed the Taiwanese hope in the quarterfinal’s by simply using his weapons to hit him off the court.
Tipsarevic is a talented player who came to fame with a four hour five set marathon with Roger Federer at the 2008 Australian Open. He has been a very consistent. However has never broken the top 30 in the ATP rankings. A seasoned veteran with the success and weapons Roddick posses should not lose to him in a major tournament.
There wasn’t a person who didn’t feel sorry for Roddick after his heartbreaking 2009 Wimbledon final lose to Roger Federer. He outplayed the Swiss megastar with blistering serves and penetrating groundstrokes. The win was the record breaking 16th grand slam for Federer but Roddick stole the show. There were chants of “Andy” after the match, and his graciousness won him many fans.
It is clear Roddick hasn’t recovered from that shattering loss. He has become content in playing very defensive tennis. This type of tennis is making his opponents play better. Gone are the days where he used to destroy the lesser ranked players with sheer brute force, and power.
After last nights performance his integrity now must be questioned. The anger that was once in his game has transferred to anger at the officials and linesman. He humiliated and berated the lines lady that foot faulted him. His performance was immature and arrogant, which was made more significant by Roddick claiming that none of it would have happened had the lady just told him that it was his left foot.
Roddick needs a change. He has only just turned 28 and still has the power to compete with the best. He should take some time off, and watch the replay of last’s night’s match. If he can put aside his huge ego and carefully watch the match he will see a completely different player than he used to be. Let’s hope he can learn from this and come back a more aggressive player, and better person.
Ultimately, the tennis world does need Andy Roddick.
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