Topic: Roddick : What Does the Future Hold For Him Now?

[hercules]

he says this might be his last wimbledon. he also said  thathe is getting old and that he is banged up with injuries.

will he stay in the sport if he continues to drop in the rankings? also all these first round losses cant be good for his confidence.

what are you thoughts? i think the sport needs him. he is not as old as he thinks he is.

is he trying hard enough?

[tennisfan78]

he says this might be his last wimbledon. he also said  thathe is getting old and that he is banged up with injuries.

will he stay in the sport if he continues to drop in the rankings? also all these first round losses cant be good for his confidence.

what are you thoughts? i think the sport needs him. he is not as old as he thinks he is.

is he trying hard enough?

I agree with you. I hope he gets healthy and starts playing better again. It seems like he is low on confidence at this moment.

[hercules]

good to see you general tennisfan.
 
i think he is filthy rich and his wife is even richer. that is what the deal is.
 
he lacks the motivation.
 
they have players almost 10 years older than him still out there competing on the atp tour.
 
 
hass has been set back with injuries all his career and he never gave up.
 
roddick is also scared if getting his ass kicked by the big boys. that is why he avoids all those clay events. he showed up at RG to tank.

[ashwin#1]

Roddick playing his last wimbledon ??
That is definately sad & i really hope its not true..

maybe the olympics might help in motivating him to win titles..

[monstertruck]

I'm not so sure about the lack of motivation.
He's always come across as a very hard worker.
Surely the thought of playing the top flight players of today and continually getting thrashed is almost as unpleasant as losing in the early rounds to weaker players.  The sting of losing coupled with the drop in rankings must be extremely painful to a former champ.

Would love to see him stick around, but I'm not sure how long he can take the pain.  At least Euroka will be happy if Andy (not Murray) retires!

[garion]

I'm not so sure about the lack of motivation.
He's always come across as a very hard worker.
Surely the thought of playing the top flight players of today and continually getting thrashed is almost as unpleasant as losing in the early rounds to weaker players.  The sting of losing coupled with the drop in rankings must be extremely painful to a former champ.

Would love to see him stick around, but I'm not sure how long he can take the pain.  At least Euroka will be happy if Andy (not Murray) retires!

I think this is the problem and why he'll quit. I think Henin was similar in a way... the minute she knew she couldn't compete and win she was out. Her injury sounded much worse. So Roddick has been hoping he'll come back but I think he sees the writing on the wall.

He was always getting angry on court when things didn't go his way... so imagine when things REALLY aren't going his way. Too much frustration. I was never a fan, but I think he should stick around.

[Start da Game]

i am not buying the age argument either.......he is not as old and he still moves quite good.......he was a consistent top 10 player but now the field has moved past him.......i don't think there's much he can do apart from working hard and hanging in the top 20.......there are just too many guys at the top who are simply better than him week in week out.......

roddick's problem is that he doesn't have a real weapon anymore.......his only weapon the serve can be picked quite easily by all the top 4 who are clearly the best returners after agassi.......

[hercules]

he still has some time.
 
motivation, drive, and hunger is what he is missing.
 
so i dont know what anyone can do about that.

[Start da Game]

he still has some time.
 
motivation, drive, and hunger is what he is missing.
 
so i dont know what anyone can do about that.

he could make total use of his wife and get recharged.......having such a wife is most of the times a plus.......i also think he has been frustrated over the years of losing too many slam finals and semifinals.......

[hercules]

it is clear he is giving up general.

[hercules]

roddick has the same problem murray has:
 
they both came along at the wrong time. clay warrior, fed, and nole dominate the sport  and there is no chance for anybody else to take the top events and the slams.
 
so you can either give up or you can keep fighting. roddick is throwing in the towel and murray is not far behind at the current rate.
 
 

[monstertruck]

i am not buying the age argument either.......he is not as old and he still moves quite good.......he was a consistent top 10 player but now the field has moved past him.......i don't think there's much he can do apart from working hard and hanging in the top 20.......there are just too many guys at the top who are simply better than him week in week out.......

roddick's problem is that he doesn't have a real weapon anymore.......his only weapon the serve can be picked quite easily by all the top 4 who are clearly the best returners after agassi.......

Ayuh.  He can't hit through the court and he's not good enough to play defensive/percentage tennis.  If he serve waivers even slightly over the course of a set he has a difficult time breaking back.

I don't think it's the age thing either.
Could be a lack of motivation/confidence as well though I've always thought of him as a 'lunch pail' type player.

The next few months could be very telling for him.

[Start da Game]

i am not buying the age argument either.......he is not as old and he still moves quite good.......he was a consistent top 10 player but now the field has moved past him.......i don't think there's much he can do apart from working hard and hanging in the top 20.......there are just too many guys at the top who are simply better than him week in week out.......

roddick's problem is that he doesn't have a real weapon anymore.......his only weapon the serve can be picked quite easily by all the top 4 who are clearly the best returners after agassi.......

Ayuh.  He can't hit through the court and he's not good enough to play defensive/percentage tennis.  If he serve waivers even slightly over the course of a set he has a difficult time breaking back.

I don't think it's the age thing either.
Could be a lack of motivation/confidence as well though I've always thought of him as a 'lunch pail' type player.

The next few months could be very telling for him.

yes i have seen him struggling to hit through as well on some of the slowed down hardcourts but he also did not have to combat in his prime the kind of returners we have now........djokovic and murray are already being talked among the all time great returners........nadal and fed are too tough at the top and others like tsonga, berdych can all hit big........i don't think he's up for it at this stage.......the field has moved past him.......

[hercules]

all valid points there but what other dynamics are at work with roddick?
 
he was in the top 10 for so long. what happened? he is #27 now and falling like a rock.
 
did the field improve that much?
 
or did he really fail to improve and keep up?
 
are being filthy rich , having a very rich and famous wife, and having lifetime endorsement income a part and parcel of his decline?
 
how much is it the lack of sufficient game and how much is it the complacency factor?
 
discuss.
 
 
 
 

[Start da Game]

and yes, percentage tennis is just not his thing........larie stefankie tried to convert him into a grinder but to no success........

[monstertruck]

Even if he's lacking in motivation and confidence, I think Shank is right about his lack of weapons.  Perhaps it's no single factor but a combination of them all that has contributed to his slide.

He's done well at Wimby in the past, let's see how he fares this year.
It could be the straw that breaks the camel's back for him.

[Alex]

and yes, percentage tennis is just not his thing........larie stefankie tried to convert him into a grinder but to no success........

they screwed up everything. back in 2003 Roddick had a golden FH ... somehow he lost it ... they tried to change too many things in his game and it was simply not natural for Roddick. Roddick's obsession with Federer is another story (more changes, more experiments and more failures). I honestly think that if AR had stuck to his original game he could have won more majors.  However, his career right now is pretty much over. He is not even motivated any more ... just kinda hanging in there. He won't be even seeded at Wimbledon.

[hercules]

he has asked for a wild card for eastbourne.
 
losing early there is not going to help.
 
i think he doesnt want it bad enough.
 
clay is the answer to his game and he avoids clay at all costs. it is too much work for him.
 
he needs to start playing 5-6 small clay events a year if he wants to move up in the rankings again.
 
we are not done with clay. clay events are still all over the place.
 
i have no sympathy for this fool if he wont bother improving. nobody gives a damn about his weeping, whining, and crying.

[garion]

all valid points there but what other dynamics are at work with roddick?
 
he was in the top 10 for so long. what happened? he is #27 now and falling like a rock.
 
did the field improve that much?
 
or did he really fail to improve and keep up?
 
are being filthy rich , having a very rich and famous wife, and having lifetime endorsement income a part and parcel of his decline?
 
how much is it the lack of sufficient game and how much is it the complacency factor?
 
discuss.

i think it's more his injuries then anything else.

[monstertruck]

and yes, percentage tennis is just not his thing........larie stefankie tried to convert him into a grinder but to no success........

they screwed up everything. back in 2003 Roddick had a golden FH ... somehow he lost it ... they tried to change too many things in his game and it was simply not natural for Roddick. Roddick's obsession with Federer is another story (more changes, more experiments and more failures). I honestly think that if AR had stuck to his original game he could have won more majors.  However, his career right now is pretty much over. He is not even motivated any more ... just kinda hanging in there. He won't be even seeded at Wimbledon.

Nothing uglier than watching him try to move into the forecourt behind some lame approach.  If he made it and didn't get passed, the volleys were downright brutal to watch.  He looked very uncomfortable there.  I think you're right about the FH.  It used to work well for him and now it's more of a rally shot then a weapon.