11/05/24
August 30, 2005
3 sets, 3 tiebreakers: and Roddick is out to the 22 year old Luxembourg native Gilles Muller who doesn't even warrant a profile pic on CBS's website.
posted by Ufez Jones to tennis at 11:29 PM - 13 comments
Wow. The sound of one man choking. This is more surprising than Kuznetsova's loss, but not that much more.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 06:33 AM on August 31, 2005
ARod's game is still immature. He lives and dies with his service game, and hopes for a break here and there. I like his intensity, but his shot selection needs improvement. With that said, his game is still very successful, though not dominating. When I see him out-think his opponent in a Slam, then the rest of the tennis world should watch out.
posted by garfield at 07:37 AM on August 31, 2005
wow
posted by daddisamm at 08:53 AM on August 31, 2005
Yeah, garfield, it's not that he doesn't have the shots, but he still thinks like a youngun. The question is, can he stay healthy long enough to develop the savvy that will make him truly formidable.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 10:41 AM on August 31, 2005
I think its a question of what sort of tactical training he is using at the moment. He must watch matches to learn from mistakes. The matches I've seen when he has lost never seem to have that gear shift (on his part) to change the dynamic on the court. His play almost seems stubborn in those instances. And any opponent who can recognize this will easily exploit it.
posted by garfield at 10:55 AM on August 31, 2005
Did you guys actually see the match? Muller was hitting 120 mph slice serves out wide or down the line. He was catching lines on almost every single point. He had some 60 odd winners. Muller played almost Federer-esque, setting Roddick up then blasting a punishing ground stroke. Muller will lose because he got lucky and played the best he ever will. Andy on the other hand had his serve in a moderate groove, but it was his backhand that killed him, he only had 2 backhand winners the whole game. I don't know why he expects to win against people using his forehand and his serve. He needs to develop a dominant two-handed backhand or it will get attacked just like it did yesterday.
posted by redsoxthrowdown at 11:18 AM on August 31, 2005
Did you guys actually see the match?...I don't know why he expects to win against people using his forehand and his serve. I think that's more or less what garfield said, no?
posted by lil_brown_bat at 11:41 AM on August 31, 2005
true but i believe now that roddick lives and dies with his backhand not his serve, even though his serve is his biggest weapon
posted by redsoxthrowdown at 12:32 PM on August 31, 2005
I don't think that Muller really played all that far over his head. He's a huge guy with a lot of angles and has beaten Agassi and Federer, I think, before. Hell, Federer didn't even have to come up with anything very special to beat Roddick ON GRASS at Wimbledon. Mostly, Andy is a solid top 10/top 20 player with a couple of good weapons, but he's got some glaring weak spots in his game -- as mentioned above: his net game, his backhand, and his head (in-match tactics). I think the word is out. Not to belabor this, but I don't think Roddick has the total package. Not to be a legitimate no. 1. He probably can rely on his serve, and to a lesser degree his forehand to keep him around the top 10 for the next few years, but he doesn't have the head, the backhand to keep him there.
posted by psmealey at 02:11 PM on August 31, 2005
Muller beat Nadal earlier this year. "...teenager Andy Murray, progressed despite throwing up on court during his five-set win." anybody have photographic evidence of this?
posted by garfield at 02:19 PM on August 31, 2005
Right: Nadal. Thanks.
posted by psmealey at 04:14 PM on August 31, 2005
Just goes to show that anyone can get beat at any time.