Darth Federer dispatches Inspired Roddick
More than any other 2007 U.S. Open theme – the late-night action; long, grinding matches; plentiful tiebreakers; the preferred nighttime look of all-black attire – the overarching leitmotif continues to be a celebration of the imperial Roger Federer.
Worthy opponent Andy Roddick, the last man to win the Open before Federer began his three-year run of titles, threw all of his considerable might at Federer in last night’s heavyweight quarterfinal, only to go down in straight sets, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4), 6-2.
Both men played splendidly and efficiently, a sort of verve-and-volley game of one-upsmanship remarkably lacking in mistakes. Roddick, with louder grunts and squeakier shoes, never shied away from forcing the issue and often jogged between points, adrenaline coming out of his ears.
His ratio of aces to double faults (14-0) and winners to unforced errors (42-24) was downright Federer-like. And Federer’s numbers were similarly impressive (15-0 and 48-18); through two sets, the two played only a single break point (on Federer’s serve, and he saved it).
But, as usual, it was Federer who produced previously unseen bells and whistles, somehow manufacturing spectacular doozies within the framework of his textbook fundamentals. Angled passing shots, down-the-line winners, feathery lobs, impossible defensive gets, Federer kept running it all up the flagpole, while all of tennis saluted.
At one point, a Federer cross-court backhard hit the tape and crawled along the top of the net, as if at Federer’s command, hopping over to Roddick’s side just out of Roddick’s reach.
“Come on, Roger,” a fan shouted during one quiet moment awaiting a serve, “give him a chance!”
Just as an exclamation point, Federer’s serene air of effortlessness stood in contrast to Roddick’s noisy, perspiring work and usual ticks of tugging at his shirt and cap. When a Roddick backhand sailed long to end a lengthy rally and at last give Federer a service break to 4-2 in the third, Federer immediately swarmed, holding serve, then breaking again for the match.
The way he did it, he said, was, “I tried to hang in there. I didn’t have a break point till the third set, which shows you how close it was. I could’ve lost either of the first two sets. He was serving out of a tree.”
Roddick, the former (briefly) No. 1 player in the world, before Federer took over the spot 188 weeks ago, entered the match 1-for-14 against Federer and Jimmy Connors, the feisty old champ who now coaches Roddick, suggested that Open fans were “waiting for [Roddick] to give them a reason to get into it.”
Connors was famous for playing to the Open crowds during a career in which he won this tournament five times, and just as renowned for aggressiveness, has been urging Roddick to “just hit the ball.” Connors noted that the players who have stolen a rare victory from Federer had done it by being defenders, “but Roddick doesn’t have that option,” Connors said. “It’s not his skill set.”
The strategy was to attack relentlessly, and Roddick did. The tennis was of consistently higher quality than when the two met in last year’s Open final and Federer never was seriously threatened in a 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 romp. “I think we both played pretty well,” said Federer, who is prone to understatement.
“I didn’t make mistakes,” Roddick said. “I’m not walking off with any questions, with my head down. I played my butt off. I played the right way. It doesn’t mean I can’t be ticked off. It’s not fun.”
So Federer moves onto a semifinal rematch with fourth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko, who yesterday cruised past No. 10 Tommy Haas of Germany, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. “I have a pretty good record against him,” Federer said (9-0, to be exact). “But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This guy can play really well. He’s been really tough the last few seasons.”
Roddick wasn’t feeling sorry for himself, he said. “If I was, I’m seriously in need of perspective. But I thought I made him play as well as he could play. Given the choice of losing and playing well and losing and playing badly, I’ll take losing and playing well any day of the week.”
Full article at:
http://www.newsday.com/sports/tennis/ny-sbroddick065360865sep06,0,6419177.story
