[轉錄] A New and Improved Andy Roddick

看板US_Army作者carillon (得去找個新id)時間21年前 (2004/01/31 01:55)推噓0(0推 0噓 0→)

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http://www.roddickonline.com/slam/html/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=103 by Debra, exclusively for roddickonline.com January 28, 2004 Like any over-worried, over-critical fan, I was concerned before the Australian Open started. Following his fabulous 2003 Summer run, Andy didn't have the best results at the end of the season, and he lost his last six tie-breakers (an area where Andy had always excelled.). As 2004 began, Andy's promises of improved fitness and movement, hard work, and dedication to improving were exciting. Once the season actually got underway, however, my questions slowly crept back. After a surprising loss in the 2nd round of the Qatar Open and a tough loss in the Kooyong Exhibition to David Nalbandian, I could not help but wonder where all that hard work was and when we'd get to see it. After Andy pulled out of his final Kooyong match with blisters, I had no idea what to expect for Andy at the Australian Open. His draw was tough- a tenacious and dangerous opponent in the first round and a potentially huge danger in the third round in Taylor Dent, someone who had soundly beaten Andy (and other top players) before. Match after match, though, my concerns about Andy continued to vanish. Stepping up to the challenge of playing his first Grand Slam not only as the #1 player in the world and #1 seed but also his first Grand Slam after winning his US Open crown, Andy quite literally blasted through match after match. The unpredictable power of Fernando Gonzalez in the 1st round was no match for Andy's new-found calmness and patience. Taylor Dent had been able to scrape out a 5-set victory in the second round, but that level of play earned him only 4 games against Andy in his form. Andy looked to be in unstoppable form. Some spectators compared it to the way he looked and acted during the Summer 2003 run. Andy had found his form just in time for the big matches, and of the ATP's "New Balls" Generation, Andy had reached the best result in the Slam following the first win - none of the other New Balls reached the Quarterfinals in the Slam after their wins. Unfortunately, though, it was not in the cards for Andy to be the first player in the Open Era to win his first two Grand Slam titles consecutively. And it would be easy to dwell on the fact that maybe he should have won his Quarter final match against Marat Safin, that he had the smallest of concentration lapses at 4-4 in the 5th set to get broken and missed a chance at 30-40 when he had a good look at a second serve when Safin was serving for the match. It would be easy, but, I think, incorrect. Sure, it's disappointing, to Andy and everyone around the world who cheers for him, but there are too many positives to take from not only that match but also Andy's run as a whole. Last year, many questioned whether Andy was really the best; did he really deserve to end the year at Number 1, even though that's where the points fell? Well, of course, we as Andy fans think so, but not without admitting Andy had a lot to work on.We knew his backhand was attackable , that he missed easy volleys and looked uncomfortable at the net and that he missed lots of easy returns. Andy will never have a perfect game, but considering in one tournament, he returned serve consistently better than he ever has before (one of his games biggest weaknesses), won an amazing 83% of his first serve points, broke his opponents' serves a whopping 26 times (and had at least three breaks per match and averaged over 5 breaks per match!), and perhaps most impressively consider ing his net game is often the butt of many jokes (including Andy's own!), he went into net 104 times and won almost 70% of net points he played! Before the Australian Open started, Andy proclaimed that the one area of his game he wanted to improve the most was return games. For comparison's sake, let's look at the 2003 US Open. Over 7 matches, Andy broke 27 times and converted about 35.5% of his break points.Over 5 matches at the 2004 Australian Open, Andy broke 26 times and converted a fabulous 53% of his break chances. I'd say Andy has improved in his return games, wouldn't you? After their Quarterfinal match, the often glib Marat Safin praised Andy's improvement: "He... has improved a lot since last time I played him,...He served well, volleyed well and has a great forehand. It's tough to hold the baseline with him." Though Andy may be 'new and improved' in almost every aspect of his game, and seemingly everyone has taken notice, he's still the same Andy who we became fans of in the first place. Even up 6-1 6-2 5-3 serving for the match, he lives and dies by every point, telling himself to focus and never allowing himself to let up. He still adds humor to even the most tense situations, and he is still one of the most gracious players on tour both in victory and defeat. With improved net play, a much-improved backhand, return, and net game, a serve that just continues to be sharper and sharper, the best physical condition he's ever been in, and perhaps most importantly, a new calm yet confident on-court demeanor, the future couldn't be more exciting. -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 61.231.97.189 ※ 編輯: carillon 來自: 61.231.97.189 (01/31 02:14)