Match report

Andy Roddick © Tennistalk.com
Internazionali BNL d Italia
Quarter final
5/9/08 1 2 3 Tot
us  Andy Roddick 6 4 7 7 2
es  Tommy Robredo 3 6 6 4 1
Tommy Robredo © Tennistalk.com

  • Roddick Blasts Into Rome Semifinals

    5/9/08 10:46 PM | Jonathan Morgan
    Against a much more accomplished clay court player than he, Roddick got past Tommy Robredo 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(4), improving his record over the Spaniard to a remarkable 8-0.

    Roddick has been looking more and more comfortable on the clay this week than ever before. He is moving great, playing consistent, smart, tennis, and is even sliding into shots.

    In this match, Roddick showed that he can indeed play on clay. Despite the 7-0 record Roddick had over Robredo coming into this match, Tommy clearly has the advantage in terms of clay results. Robredo grew up on this surface and scored his only Masters series win on the clay of Hamburg in 2006.

    It started off well for Roddick. In the first set, he hit his serves with plenty of kick, allowing them to bounce very high and making them tough to return aggresively. This is a departure from what he usually does, smacking everything as hard as he can as flat as a pancake. Robredo chose to stand far behind the baseline to return the Roddick serve as a counter measure. To counter that, Roddick began to serve and volley on most every single point, first and second. This strategy worked very well for Roddick as he took the first set.

    However, Roddick's volleys became a bit sluggish late in the second set as Robredo began to hit some better passes. Tommy took the second set, and had the momentum. An easrly break from Roddick in the 3rd got him back up, but Robredo broke back at 3 all. The baseline rallies were entertaining as both men picked their spots to go for big winners, and neither fired too soon. It was a well-thought affair. Mental toughness and a big serve allowed Roddick to take advantage in the tiebreak as Robredo didn't have enough to pull off the win. An emphatic smash on match point sent the ball into the crowd, Robredo to Hamburg, and Roddick into the semifinals.

    Roddick won 38/55 points at net in this match, with a +13 winners to errors ratio. Robredo was just as good, with 45 winners and a +5 differenetial. Roddick will face Stanislas Wawrinka in the semis.

  • Thumbs up

    Stellar play from both men, and Roddick's volleying was superb. Becker, Edberg, and Sampras would be proud.

  • Thumbs down

    6 double faults in the second set from Andy, not very good.

Tell a friend »

Other articles related to the tournament

Click here fore more articles

Comments


Write comment

You have to be logged in to comment. If you do not have an account, click here to register. It only takes a minute and you'll be redirected back to this page.
Username:

Password:

Expekt.com offers you the widest range and best odds on all tennis matches. Click here to bet and check all the latest tennis odds from expekt.com

Did you know that... While in high school, Andy Roddick played basketball with fellow pro tennis player Mardy Fish.

Register for newsletter:

Poll

Davis Cup is not nearly as interesting as the ATP tour.
Not true
True

Poll archive

Articles - Latest commented

Blog - Latest commented

Tell a friend

Your name:

Friend's name:

Friend's email:

Other tennis links

Related articles

us  Andy Roddick es  Tommy Robredo
Internazionali BNL d Italia  Internazionali BNL d Italia