ATP Masters Series 1000 Miami - Fourth Round
21 Juan Monaco d 31 Andy Roddick - 75 60
So you beat the GOAT on day and completely flame out the next?
With a bagel no less? Lord.
I could wrap my mind around this if it were on clay.
Andy. Andy. Andy.
Photo: Getty Images
ATP Masters Series 1000 Miami - Third Round
31 Andy Roddick d 3 Roger Federer - 76(4) 16 64
For long-suffering Roddick fans win #3 over the GOAT must've been sweet.
It's been 4 long years since Andy beat him - and it was on the same court.
So he's narrowed the gap to 3-21. (Stop laughing.)
Given where the 2 are at the moment in their careers this was a big upset.
But he won't be allowed to celebrate for too long...
Andy has to come back tomorrow and play a Qf vs 21 Monaco - H2H: 1-0/AR.
He lost his 1st round match here last year so his ranking will get a boost.
Remember, he's fallen to American #3 behind Fish & Isner.
***
And don't feel too bad for Roger Federer - he's had a great week or so...
Winning a 4th title at Indian Wells & being named TC's Greatest of All Time.
So an early departure from Miami can't be the worst thing in the world.
Tho his biggest fan (and my friend) Diane would disagree.
Photo: Reuters
ATP Masters Series 1000 - Second Round
31 Andy Roddick d Gilles Muller - 63 62
This is Andy's 13th consecutive Miami tourny - W/L: 28-10 Champ: '04 &'10.
He looked sharp today. And will gain some points as he lost 2nd R last year.
He will get the winner of Federer/Harrison being played now.
If it's Roger that H2H is ugly: 2 won - 21 lost.
Draught: Andy has not won a title in over a year... Memphis, Feb 2011.
BTW, that Tennis Channel list should have ranked Andy a little higher.
#94. Should have been in the 70's, I think. But hey, at least he made the list.
Photo: Reuters
ATP Masters Series 1000 - Third Round
7 Tomas Berdych d 30 Andy Roddick - 63 46 62
It's getting hard to watch Andy tumble down the rankings.
He's currently ranked #31 and didn't defend his 4th rounds points here.
I'm afraid he will slip a bit more and may not even be seeded at Miami.
In truth, Andy has struggled with various injuries for about a year.
I'd sure like to see him make a nice push back up the rankings.
He's currently the #3 ranked American behind Mardy Fish and John Isner.
That has to be tough as he spent about a decade as the US #1.
Good luck in Miami.
Photo: Getty Images
Roger with the self-portrait! He posted this on Facebook today captioned:
Just landed in New York City from Dubai! Very excited to be in the Big Apple
For the exo tomorrow night at Madison Square Garden.
'Tis true. Roger is playing an exo match against Andy Roddick.
They've met a couple times before in NYC - both US Open wins for Rog.
Including a memorable 4-set match in the final.
But wait... it's a double bill: Caro Wozniacki vs Maria Sharapova.
Between Roger, Maria & Brooklyn I'm guessing Anna Wintour is in the chair?
Wimbledon Men's Third Round
Feliciano Lopez d 8 Andy Roddick - 76(2) 76(2) 64
Boy this loss really feels like the writing is on the wall for Andy.
Since his loss to Federer in that incredible Wimby final 2 years ago...
His Slam resume has been a disaster - only 1 Qf with a Slam W/L of 19/7.
Sad to say but I think his time is definitately running out.
As for Feli - this is his 5th trip to the 4th round at SW19: 2-2.
The grass at Wimbledon is easily his best surface.
Oh and, these two may square of again in Davis Cup in a couple of weeks.
Photo: Getty Images
Queen's Club ATP 250 - Quarterfinals
3 Andy Roddick d 7 Fernando Verdasco - 62 62
Hey, nice to see Andy string together (at least) a semifinal run this week.
But those ankle socks...
Andy is looking for his 5th title here.
To get it he will have to take care of the other Andy (Murray) tomorrow.
It can be done.
Anyone else smell one more decent run at Wimbledon?
Photo: Getty Images
Madrid Masters Series 1000 - First Round
Flavio Cipolla d 12 Andy Roddick - 64 67(7) 63
How do you know we're in the midst of the clay season?
American men lose early. Today it was the 2 US men: Fish and Roddick.
Two words that sum up Andy today: Potty mouth.
Andy has a whopping 90 points to defend thru Roland Garros.
So I'm guessing he's biding his time until Queen's Club - on grass.
Photo: Getty Images
As Andy sits on the 18th hole at Augusta National...
Mardy Fish is in Houston trying to pad his lead as the US #1.
Historically neither has done well on clay so...
I think the real US #1 battle will engage after the French.
By the way, Mardy has more points to defend than Andy this summer...
From the grass season thru the US Open Mardy has 1370, Andy has 720.
Sooooooo... I'll bet on Andy getting that back. Maybe.
***
Yesterday Andy caddied for Zach Johnson at the Par 3 Contest:
Photos: Getty Images
Indian Wells ATP Masters 1000 - Fourth Round
18 Richard Gasquet d 8 Andy Roddick - 63 76(5)
Hey, welcome back to the top 20 Richard!
Oddly enough (or maybe not) this will only be Richard's 6th Masters 1000 Qf.
He played well from the get go - but nearly choked it away in the 2nd.
Andy will rue the fact that he didn't grab that 2nd set.
Bad behavior: But he sure gave the chair plenty of guff.
Andy will lose his runner-up points but will keep his #8 ranking.
But he heads to Miami as the defending champ...
Crunch time Andy.
***
I shot the photo on Saturday during Richard's practice session.
Congrats. I love Jim!
Let me qualify that - I love him now.
I was hating him when he beat my man Andre Agassi in the French final.
And I was hating him even more when he beat my other man Stefan Edberg...
in back-to-back Australian Open finals.
I guess if I had it my way Jim would only have one Slam - his 2nd French.
As the new Davis Cup captain it was nice to see him start with a win.
The US team traveled to Santiago and beat Chile 4-1.
They will next play Spain in the US...
Andy Roddick factor: Something tells me it might just be held in Austin.
That would be a class touch.
Enjoy the win boys. Next stop: Indian Wells.
Memphis ATP 500 - Final
1 Andy Roddick d W/C Milos Raonic - 76(7) 67(11) 75
This was certainly a thriller - but absent from this match was a rally or two.
I jest - some of the rallies toward the end of the match were quite fun.
But with 52 aces between them for awhile there it felt like a serving contest.
Andy collects his 3rd title in Memphis and his 30th ATP career title.
Only 2 other active players have 30+ titles: Federer (67) and Nadal (43).
He also extends his yearly title streak to 11 years - back to Atlanta in '01.
Andy may have hit the greatest match point ever - see video below.
Andy: That is the best shot I have ever hit.
As the #1 seed at Delray Beach next week he'll face Dudi Sela - H2H: 1-1.
***
As for Milos... this effort will take him to a ranking of #37 tomorrow.
Making him the highest ranked Canadian of all time.
Andy to Milos: Coming from an old guy who's seen a lot of players...
You have a very very bright future.
Something tells me Milos' face is gonna be all over Canada soon.
Australian Open - Men's Fourth Round
19 Stanislas Wawrinka d 8 Andy Roddick - 63 64 64
On the surface that looks like an upset but in reality - it really wasn't.
Stan advances to his 2nd Slam Qf. And 2nd in a row following the US Open.
Now he has the pleasure of playing good friend Roger Federer - H2H: 6-1/RF.
Homer Simpson has been photo-bombing Stan's Twitter page. And I love it.
Photos: Stan's Twitter page.
The following are all third round matches, natch.
8 Andy Roddick d Robin Hasse - 26 76(2) 62 62
Rough start. Picked it up in the 2nd. Then cruised to victory.
Remember Robin was voted 'most improved' by the ATP last season.
Semi bound year: Odd years find A-Rod in the Sf's: '03, '05, '07, '09.
To get there he'll need to get thru Wawrinka next & probably Federer.
Andy vs Stan - H2H: 2-1/SW. Both Stan wins were from Andy retirements.
14 Maria Sharapova d Julia Goerges - 46 64 64
Talk about gutting one out. This was a thriller from 1st to last ball struck.
This is furtherest she's been at the Aussie Open since she won in '08.
This is also her 3rd straight 4th round showing at a Slam.
I've said it here many times last year: She's due a good Slam result.
9 Fernando Verdasco d Kei Nishikori - 62 64 63
He picked this up right where he left us with Tipsarevic.
And in his Clavin's no less.
The '09 Sf'ist has now matched last years result.
To improve on that he'll have to get thru Tomas Berdych - H2H: 6-4/TB.
That will be a really great 4th rounder for sure.
1 Caroline Wozniacki d Dominika Cibulkova - 64 63
Caro turned the tables on the half-pint that beat her last week in Sydney.
Then went into the presser and wowwed the journos by interviewing herself.
Google it. It's funny.
6 Francesca Schiavone d Monica Nicolescu - 60 76(2)
Has she yet been on a bigger court tha Margaret Court?
This is Fran's 14th visit to a Slam 4th round: 5-8.
She have a fun one next against Svetlana Kuznetsova: 8-4/SK.
6 Tomas Berdych d 28 Richard Gasquet - 62 76(3) 62
Here's a shocker: Tomas is 3-9 in Slam 4th round matches.
Two of those 3 wins came last year at Roland Garros & Wimbledon.
And he followed them up with Sf & RU runs respectively.
Also, he has David Ferrer breathing down his neck for that #6 ranking.
And nothing is certain with Verdasco next.
23 Svetlana Kuznetsova d 11 Justine Henin - 64 76(8)
Shocker #1: This is only Sveta's 3rd win over Justine in 19 matches.
Shocker #2: This is the very first time she won a tie-break over Justine.
Shocker #3: Sveta really tried to give this match away to Justine.
Ok, that last one isn't a shocker - but when you serve for it twice...
***
Photos: Reuters/Getty Images
I've been to busy to keep up. So here is one giant post.
As you read keep in mind all of yesterday's matches were second round...
2 Roger Federer d Gilles Simon - 62 63 46 46 63
A genuine bonafide thriller.
Roger hadn't been dumped from a Slam this early since RG '03.
He improved his career record of winning with a 2 set lead to 166-0.
Gilles still remains 1 of 3 active players with a winning H2H over Fed.
Nadal & Murray are the others. He can only (potentially) face 1 - in the final.
4 Venus Williams d Sandra Zahlavova - 76(6) 60 64
An incredible match of fighting spirit.
V pulled a groin muscle at the end of the tie-break.
She leaves court for treatment only to return to serve-up a bagel.
Although injured V has never retired from a Slam match.
Let's see how that feels tomorrow though.
9 Fernando Verdasco d Janko Tipsarevic - 26 46 64 76(0) 60
This thing was an absolute head-stracher.
Janko served for it twice and completely bungled 3 match points.
And once he lost that 4th set TB - he basically lost all heart to play.
This is probably sting for awhile.
6 Francesca Schiavone d Rebecca Marino - 63 57 97
Yet another of the crazy matches played yesterday.
This is Fran's 6th visit to the 3rd round: 2-3. She's never been to the Qf's.
3 Novak Djokovic d Ivan Dodig - 75 76(8) 60 62
Little signs of struggle and frustration in those 1st 2 sets.
But no doubt Novak is happy with the last 2 sets.
This is his 5th straight year thru to the 3rd round: 4-0.
Nole will next face fellow Serb and good friend Viktor Troicki: 6-1/ND.
Remember, Troicki very nearly got him at the US Open last year.
14 Maria Sharapova d Virginie Razzano - 76(3) 63
The former champion, Maria won the last of her 3 Slams here in 2008.
In the 9 Slams she's played since she has gotten to the Qf's (and lost) once.
Stupid shoulder.
Good news: She lost 1st round last year so her ranking will pop a bit.
8 Andy Roddick d Igor Kunitsyn - 76(7) 62 63
I often wonder if Andy let's himself daydream about tennis w/o Federer.
Cuz they are on yet another collision course to meet here in the Qf's.
Observation: Too many slice backhands. That won't cut it next week.
30 Andrea Petkovic d Anne Keothavong - 26 75 60
From the brink Petko digs deep for the magic.
She has only ventured past the 2nd round at a Slam once before:
Her Sf showing at the US Open last year.
She next plays Venus who, as we mentioned before, is quite injured.
29 Viktor Troicki d Nicolas Mahut - 64 62 16 63
It sure feels like that Davis Cup high has lingered, doesn't it?
Too bad DC teammates must play in the next round.
I wonder whose hair is growing back faster?
Viktor has now been to the 3rd round at all 4 Slams. Never further.
8 Victoria Azarenka d Andrea Hlavackova - 64 64
This is Vika's 14th visit to a 3rd round in a Slam: 6-7.
Remember last year she was wheeled off her Qf match after fainting.
One to watch: She has a legitimate shot at a deep run this year.
14 Nicolas Almagro d Igor Andreev - 75 26 46 76(10) 75
Hey whoa whoa whoa, I thought you were a clay courter.
Even so, this is Nico's 3rd straight year to the 3rd round: 1-1.
One might even fancy his chances in his next round against Ljubicic.
I said: Might.
28 Richard Gasquet d Adrian Mannarino - 63 76(4) 64
Lovely to see Richard winning a couple rounds in a Slam.
He lost 1st round here last year so he'll be happy to be collecting points.
He will next face Tomas Berdych with whom has a winning H2H: 2-1.
That should be a real fun one.
***
Phew, now I can get a few things done before Day 4 begins.
This time difference between Melbourne & Los Angeles is a killer.
Photos: AP/Reuters/Getty Images
Australian Open - Men's First Round
2 Roger Federer d Lucas Lacko - 61 61 63
3 Novak Djokovic d Marcel Granollers - 61 63 61
At this rate you can look forward to these two meeting in the Sf's.
I mean, those are blistering scorelines over 2 very capable players.
Roger could face along the way Roddick, Monfils, Fish & Wawrinka.
BTW, Andy Roddick too only lost 5 games in his match yesterday.
Novak's draw includes Serbs Troicki & Tipsarevic plus Verdasco & Berdych.
Ok, not a done deal but I'm penciling them in for a Sf showdown.
Photos: Getty Images
I wonder how into this he really is - he didn't even tweet about it...
And Andy tweets folks.
Andy heads to Aussie Open having lost a tough 5-setter in the Qf's last year.
Odds in his favor: Andy always gets to the Sf's in odd years: '03, '05, '07, '09.
Andy started the year well finishing runner-up in Brisbane last week.
Worth another mention: Andy donated $10,800 to Queensland flood victims.
You're a good kid Andy.
Brisbane ATP 250 - Men's Final
1 Robin Soderling d 2 Andy Roddick - 63 75
Robin wins his 7th title in 17 finals & improves his H2H against Andy to 4-2.
Many tennis folk are expecting 2011 to be a big year for the Swede.
His win today moves him up to #4 bumping Andy Murray to #5.
Last year Del Potro sent Murray to #5. How will this impact the AO11?
Last year it created a Nadal/Murray Qf - which seemed too soon, no?
Robin heads to AO11 a 1st round loser in '10 - he's never been past the 2nd.
W/L records at the Aussie for both players: Robin is 2-5 - Andy is 34-9.
At the trophy ceremony Andy doubled his ace donation to $200 per...
In the end his 54 aces contributed $10,800 for Queensland flood victims.
Nice going Andy.
Andy Roddick is 1st Seed to Lose at Roland Garros
Roland Garros - Men's First Round
Nicolas Mahut d 26 Andy Roddick - 63 63 46 62
I guess this comes as no big surprise.
In 10 trips to Paris he's walked of the court a loser in the 1st round 5 times.
And most of those losses came on Court Lenglen - like today.
He now has a losing record at Roland Garros: 9-10.
To go with his losing record on the year: 7-10. Far from his glory days.
London calling: I suppose his grass season will begin tomorrow.
Photo: Getty Images
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