On Roddick's grave it will say "I was Fed's pigeon."

I think (hope) Roddick has at least 2 years left before fading into history. I'm surprised though that Mac hasn't said anything about young Ryan Harrison. I believe he has a better chance than Querrey or Isner of winning a slam.

If you recall, a couple of years ago Roddick had been on the point of calling it a day until his wife persuaded him to keep at it. We then saw an amazing resurgence which sadly seems to have been snuffed out since that cruel moment at Wimbedon when he came so close to fulfilling his dream. His self-belief has taken a big knock yet again and it would not surprise me if he pulled the plug on his career at the end of this season.

But ed, what would Roddick be doing if he retires by end of this season, he is only 28 this year. Is Roddick one guy who is only interested in winning slams, or at least Wimbledon? Or is he one who hangs around, enjoys playing professional tennis, tries his best to win the big ones when they come, if can't win then move on to the next tournament?

I think he is brassed off with losing to people he once could demolish and he is sliding down in the rankings. A few years back he fought his way out of a slump but I dont think he has the stomach to try again. Plus he is a very physical player and seems to be struggling with some injuries. I would guess he has a great future in the media - he his so quick witted in his interviews and would make a great commentator.

I don't think Andy R would mind becoming Mr Brooklyn Decker and he may decide to do that. But he played some very good hc tennis at IW and Miami this year. Mardy Fish has also been having a very good year for him. Let's see how Andy does during the US Open Series this year before we write him off. One thing, he won't be playing Davis Cup any more.
Sam Querry is only 22 while Isner is 25 but this is only Isner's 4th year on the tour so he's got less tennis wear on his body. They may have top 10 potential but I don't think either will make the "legend" category except insofar as Isner did at Wimbly this year. :-) Can't quite see either winning a slam. All you can say about the Harrison bros is they've got potential.

OK ed, thanks for the info. Poor guy, not winning the Wimbledon would be some kind of regrets for him if he really quit end of this season.

There qre just so many tough, younger players coming up through the ranks - it can only get harder for the older generation to stay anywhere near the top. Having said that some of the veterans have been producing surprise wins in recent months! But there is a difference between somebody like Roddick who peaked early in his career but struggled to fulfill that form and long haul sloggers like Davydenko who had his biggest win at the WTF!

I think Davy is a late developer, I believe his game comes together only after or during 2005. Imagine he is five years older than Rafa, and he only reached the top ten about the same time as Rafa in 2005. However, like what you mentioned, he is in for the long haul and is here to stay. Davy is really impressive, considering the fact that he has already made 13 mil in prize money despite not winning any slam, and has won 20 titles to date. I believe he can play top class tennis till may be 33 to 35, as long as he can take care of himself physically. He is more workman like, more interested in making a living out of his tennis career rather than thinking of winning slams and becoming great. I do hope Davy can win at least one slam though, to cap off a reasonably good career.

I agree on your take about Roddick: peaked early in his career, struggle later (I think Hewitt is also something like that, though Hewitt has some injury issues; Safin too). Only the truly greats in tennis can sustain through the peaks and valleys in their careers, and end up winning multiple slams. Sampras and Fed are examples of such. I hope Rafa will be like them and ends up as one of the all time greats too.

I hope Roddick will win the Wimbledon title some day, if he does not call it quit end of this year.

Isn't it a bit early to write Roddick off? The guy is not running around the court with a cane in one hand and a racket in the other just yet. His best years may be behind him, but there are a few more good years to come. He made 2 consecutive Masters finals just a few months ago, and won one of those.

Roddick is a mean, sarcastic, cynical person. I hope he quits.

no way isner and querry are top ten contenders.

Trust Johnny MacEnroe to write his gloom and doom nonsense. Hasn't he said this about Federer and Nadal also? He also said this about the Joker. Johnny Mc is one who changes his mouth as the wind changes direction.

Roddick ain't done yet, not by a long shot.

Roddick needs match play -- he said this when he got the WC for Atlanta. Andy messed up by taking too long a sabbatical during the clay season and when he returned to Madrid he was going to play doubles and singles to get himself match grooved, however, he came down with a stomach virus. That sidelined him going into the FO, and that coupled with being ungrooved, caused him to lose early at Wimbles.

At Atlanta, he got a pinched nerve in his foot which hindered him from getting up to the balls. Imagine Ram, whom Roddick demolished every time they played, was able to take him to a tie break. Andy, had the Atlanta SF first set, and had BP on Fish twice, except he was not getting his BH working. That's indicative of being ungrooved. His buddy Fish knew of his foot problem and kept him running, thereby aggravating the foot condition.

I think before the USO Roddick will bounce back. He has points to gain at Cincy and if he doesn't sit out the season after the USO, he could pick up points at Shanghai, Bercy and at the WTF. I think it's a bit too premature for Johny Mc, Mr. Gloom and Doom to write off Roddick. After all, roddick leads the other players with a 29-5 record. he has more match wins than any of the top 10 players.

_______________
Pennster: Do try to be a bit more gracious will ya! You seem like a very bitter person towards nearly all of the players. i doubt you have a fave player. Well, do you?

croc - Isner and Querrey are already Top 10 contenders!!!!!

Roddick has several years left. And good point by Ramara - Isner is 25 but younger in tennis years. Will be a force into his 30s, especially since his game will never be predicated on movement.

@Ricky
good point about Isner. games built around speed and athletecism generally decline faster than games built around pure hitting and big serving.(del potro,isner etc)

Von-nice try. I only know that Roddick and Murray suck.

pennster; See, you can be gracious -- you answered my post. I don't think either guys suck. Roddick had the misfortune of being born in the wrong time-line, and as such, was the only guy who had to fight off Federer for all those years Fed was dominant. The younger players, e.g., Murray , Djokovic and DelPotro are the lucky ones as they are going to peak when Federer's game is winding down. Nadal did his part by dominating on clay, which gave him the confidence to beat Fed on other surfaces. Do you realize that Roddick was stopped by Federer 18 times. Had that not been so, who knows Roddick could have been the holder of 16 additional GS trophies. I don't feel that Roddick has/is given enough credit for all he's done. Had the other players done their share of taking down Federer, Roddick would not have had to be the one faced with that dilemma. Anyway, be nice, AR is my fave. Who's yours?

@ ricky dimon. i mean that no way i think isner and querry would enter the top ten and stay for a longer period. no way. congrats to you if i'm wrong, they seem to be your fav players. i do like querrey, he has a wicked forehand and serve and seems to be a humble guy.

i agree roddick has several years left. he always produces some solid results in bigger tournaments and wins some minor ones. like he has done consistently for so many years. plus he is wise and doesn't play so many tournaments. problem for him will be if his ranking slips and he will run into bigger players earlier in tournaments.

Isner and Querrey aren't my favorite players. They are simply the 2 brightest American players for the next 5 year or so, so obviously I hope they do well for the sake of American tennis.

And there is a big difference between saying they "arent Top 10 contenders" and saying "they wont stay in the Top 10 for a long period."

for me , roddick aint done yet !! NO way

vamosrafa,

I agree with you completely! I think he may have another great run in him before his career is over. I would never write him off prematurely. It gets harder as a player gets older and there are younger players coming along who are extremely talented, but Roddick has shown that he has the grit and commitment to be in the top ten for a long time.

I do hope his ranking doesn't slip any more as that will make it harder for him. He has done well to even stay in the top five for a number of years and still being in the top ten is a huge accomplishment.

Andy had all the promise of being the successor to Pete Sampras. Instead, destiny played a cruel joke on him, making him contemporary to the most successful player of all time, and having to surrender all the glory and victories he could have earned, to him.
On top of that, and to add insult to Injury, another man would appear to challenge the greatest and create a drama and a rivalry of such magnitude that poor Andy was relegated to a sideshow. Then he learned to become content with mediocrity and that was the beginning of the end.
See you in the press box, Andy...

I disagree with Johnny Mac this time. From what I've seen, Roddick's form is no different now than it has been for most of his professional career. Losing unexpectedly is nothing new for Andy. Remember the year he was the defending USO champ? He lost in the quarters to Pim-Pim.

Andy's fine....or as fine as he ever was, that is.

I agree that it's too early to dismiss Roddick as a fading force. He reached the finals at Indian Wells and won in Miami. He may be in a bit of a slump right now, but it seems due more to lack of matches rather than to age.

"Andy had all the promise of being the successor to Pete Sampras." Well as far as I know, Federer hasn't denied Roddick in 13 grand slams. Nobody with the touch of a buffalo holds candle to Pete Sampras.

No, I confidently believe that Roddick will come back strongly USO next month !!

"the touch of a buffalo"

LOL! Funny and apt description, Samprallica. :D

why even say roddick is in a slump? he's doing alright. he had a great spring. he lost a very tight match at wimby, that's it, bad luck. during the clay season he never had results, that's nothing new....