[情報] Not your typical rivalry
呃...照現在的情況
Andy想要和Roger有rivalry...
還是多加加油吧
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Not your typical rivalry
Charles Bricker
Sun-Sentinel
Published March 26, 2004
KEY BISCAYNE ?This felt so good.
Sitting there in front of the newly buzz-cut Andy Roddick, listening to him
talk with such great respect, admiration and personal feeling toward his chief
rival, Roger Federer.
"If he came to me and said, `We should get together and go to dinner sometime,'
I'd say, 'For sure.' I'd have no problem. Yeah, no problem with that at all,"
Roddick said Thursday, two days before he opens his quest for the Nasdaq-100
title.
None of that insane jealousy Jimmy Connors felt toward John McEnroe. None of
that distance Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras felt was mandatory during the
1990s, when they were competing against each other for No. 1 in the world.
This is the new generation of young players, and it's so very refreshing.
I'm not entirely sure how Roddick manages to balance his competitive nature
with his innate desire to link himself with the other greats in his sport, but
he has done so, and tennis is all the better for it.
If we're lucky, we'll have these two brilliantly talented young men (Andy is
21, Roger 22) facing each other in a long string of semifinals and finals over
the next seven or eight years, or however long they can stay at the top.
Maybe it's a great storyline if rivals don't like each other. It was great
fun watching Connors grind his teeth at the mere mention of Johnny Mac's name.
But, frankly, there's more satisfaction in seeing two young men who are at the
top of tennis go at each other with unrelenting energy on court, then praising
each other or tipping a couple of brews when it's over.
That's the potential of the Federer-Roddick rivalry that is still in its early
stages.
They've played six times so far, with Federer winning five, including the
semifinal at Wimbledon last year. But it's not as one-sided as that. Federer
has his weapons, many of them. But so does Roddick, and on a day when his
130-140 mph serve is crackling and his forehand whaling, he will come out on
top.
In 1984, McEnroe whipped Connors all six times they played, ensuring a lifetime
of enmity between the two of them, even during the Davis Cup final in which
they were upset in Sweden that year.
Yet, despite Federer's edge in their matchups thus far, there isn't the
slightest bit of rancor between himself and Roddick.
"Roger has his groove, and I have my groove. I respect him as a person and have
no ill will toward him. We kind of both do our thing and have mutual respect.
I like the way he treats people. I've noticed that from afar. He doesn't act
high-and-mighty at all," Roddick said.
I doubt if Federer feels any differently about Roddick, who is so much more
outgoing than Sampras was as the U.S. No. 1. Roddick knows what he's got on
court and he has no problem acknowledging Federer's talents, and that's a great
starting point for mutual respect.
"He's definitely the best player in the world. He's established himself as
that. So the rest of us need to get our butts in gear and try to make the gap
a little smaller," Roddick said.
After six matches, there's little the two young men don't know about each
other's game, though each is still evolving in some way. Federer once was
suspect on high backhands. No more. Roddick's backhand once was just a rally
shot. Now, it can be an effective passing shot.
"I'm definitely always looking, watching his matches, trying to find out
different ways where, if I do get to play him next time, what I might do or
could do differently. I'm sure he's doing the same thing," Roddick said.
"As both of us improve and maybe cover our weaknesses or cover gaps and change
our games, there's always that kind of adjustment that has to be made."
And?
Roddick smiled. "He's being really annoying by covering up all his holes right
now. I'm just joking," he added, but acknowledged, "It's getting tougher and
tougher, for sure."
Like most players, Roddick's primary focus is on his game. But if, for just a
moment, he could step back and put himself in a fan's skin, could he appreciate
the possibility of seeing Roddick vs. Federer in big matches, in big tournaments
over the rest of this decade and perhaps into the next?
"Well, yeah. I mean, it's no secret that rivalries have always created the
biggest excitement in tennis, especially when you have familiar names playing
on a weekly basis. That's obviously the best thing for tennis.
"But, you know, I hope to be there. I definitely have to hold up my side and it
looks like he's doing a good job of holding up his side of that."
Federer is seeded No. 1 here and Roddick No. 2. It means they could only meet
in a final. Bring on match No. 7.
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