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4/3/08 6:02 AM | Ricky Dimon
Normally a rivalry has to be one in which two sides each win roughly half of the time. Not long ago, however, Roger Federer vs. Andy Roddick was the best “rivalry” professional tennis had to offer. It has since been far surpassed by Federer-Nadal and the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic triumvirate, but at least for one moment this week, the Federer-Roddick “rivalry” is back. The two players will do battle for the 17th time when they take the court for a quarterfinal clash at the Masters Series Miami. Federer’s whopping and well-publicized 15-1 head-to-head edge over Roddick will be on the line along with a coveted spot in the semifinals.
Technically there is never a good time to play Roger Federer, but at the moment Roddick has to be given a fighting chance of picking up his second victory over the No. 1 player in the world. Federer has not won any of his three tournaments so far this season, and that stretch included losses to Novak Djokovic in Australia, to Andy Murray in the first round of Dubai, and decisively to Mardy Fish at the Masters Series Indian Wells. As he often does, however, Roddick could be catching Federer just as the Swiss is rounding into form. Federer took out Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4 in his first Sony Ericsson Open match, drove Robin Soderling into retirement up 6-4, 3-0, and then dispatched Jose Acasuso 7-6(5), 6-2 and looked dominant in doing so, despite what the close first-set scoreline suggests.
Roddick entered this event in better form than Federer (he deserves a free pass for his loss to Tommy Haas in Indian Wells since he had just won the Dubai title), but he has had a far more difficult time than Federer advancing in Miami. In his first match the American was level at 4-4 in the third set with Viktor Troicki before he held serve and then broke to prevail 6-4. It wasn't a whole lot easier with unheralded Ivo Minar in round three. Roddick took the first set in a tiebreaker and squandered a break in the second frame before recovering to win in straight sets. On Tuesday night he dropped the first set to in-form Julien Benneteau, but Roddick again righted the ship to win in three.
Roddick cannot afford to play such inconsistent tennis if he hopes to upset Federer. He must come out on fire and play aggressively from the first point of the match in order to send a message to his opponent that things are going to be different this time around. Whether they are actually going to be different is a—well—different story. Don’t be surprised if Roddick powers his way to one set, but Federer appears to have his mojo back in Miami and therefore the match is his for the taking.
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This will be a grat match! But Federer in form will take it in two straight sets. Roddick has his mind on other stuff :) Unless he is high on love and will play his best tennis because of that...
Did you know that... James Blake suffered from severe scoliosis as a teenager. He had to wear a back brace for 18 hours of the day because of it.
sstay, Sep 8, 2008 9:32 AM
mara2, Sep 8, 2008 7:00 AM
RafaNadalGirl20, Sep 8, 2008 6:50 AM
BernieEliza, Sep 8, 2008 5:47 AM
BernieEliza, Sep 8, 2008 5:42 AM
kaitepai, Sep 8, 2008 6:04 AM
DdV, Sep 7, 2008 5:43 PM
DdV, Sep 7, 2008 5:36 PM
Did you know that... Benjamin Becker was given the ATP-tour's rookie of the year award in 2006.
sstay, Sep 8, 2008 9:32 AM
mara2, Sep 8, 2008 7:00 AM
RafaNadalGirl20, Sep 8, 2008 6:50 AM
BernieEliza, Sep 8, 2008 5:47 AM
BernieEliza, Sep 8, 2008 5:42 AM
kaitepai, Sep 8, 2008 6:04 AM
DdV, Sep 7, 2008 5:43 PM
DdV, Sep 7, 2008 5:36 PM
