Andy Roddick stands between Roger Federer and history
WIMBLEDON, England — It isn’t the Wimbledon men’s final Great Britain was hoping for, and it is unlikely to match Rafael Nadal’s epic victory over Roger Federer last summer. But those poor souls who paid thousands of pounds hoping to see Andy Murray might get their money’s worth Sunday as gutsy, big-hitting American Andy Roddick stands between Federer and history.
Federer is going for his 15th Grand Slam title, which would break Pete Sampras’ record. Playing in his seventh consecutive Wimbledon final, Federer also is trying to win a sixth Wimbledon title and reclaim the No. 1 ranking from Nadal. He had been the world’s top-ranked player for 237 weeks in a row before Nadal surpassed him in August 2008.
The Royal Box will be loaded with luminaries. Bjorn Borg, Rod Laver and Sampras are expected to be among the men in suits.
Federer was in a funk for much of last year, and skeptics wondered whether Nadal had surpassed him. But then he won a fifth consecutive U.S. Open, lost a tough five-setter to Nadal in Australia and won his first French Open. Granted, Nadal wasn’t his final opponent, and the Spaniard skipped Wimbledon because of sore knees, but still, nobody is questioning Federer’s game anymore.
HE’S IN A GROOVE
He showed up in his white blazer and slacks, looking dapper and confident as ever. He has dropped only one set at this tournament, is on an 18-match winning streak and he seems happy off the court, as well. He married longtime girlfriend, Mirka, in April, and they are expecting a baby later this summer.
”I’m just excited Mirka is feeling great, awaiting our first child. It’s quite something on a personal note,” he said. “Also, I’m playing wonderful tennis at the moment. Everything’s just great.”
The only man who can spoil his mood is Roddick, the sixth-ranked American who has a dismal 2-18 record against Federer.
Roddick is 0-7 against Federer in Grand Slams and 0-3 at Wimbledon, including the 2004 and 2005 finals. Roddick’s only victory over Federer in their past 15 meetings was at the 2008 Sony Ericsson Open on Key Biscayne. In front of an electric crowd that night, Roddick got past his nemesis 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-3.
”I’ve played Andy 20 times, so I’ve had plenty of time to understand his game,” Federer said. “He’s always played me quite differently every single time I’ve played him. In the beginning of his career, he was standing way back on the return. In 2004, he chipped and charged a lot. I’ve also played him when he serve and volleyed.
“I’ve had many different looks against Roddick. I enjoy how he leaves everything out on the court. I can only marvel at how incredible his serve is. I like playing against him, not only because of the record.”
Asked what he finds most challenging about playing Roddick, Federer said, “His fighting spirit, his belief.”
It is that spirit that pulled Roddick through a five-set dogfight against Lleyton Hewitt in the quarterfinals, and the belief that carried him to a shocking semifinal victory over Murray and his legions of fans. Roddick brought out a more diversified game, rushing the net more than usual, and placing his serves right on the lines.
This is a new, more confident Roddick. He, too, is a newlywed, and said that has brought him calm on the court. The former No. 1 hasn’t won a Grand Slam title since the 2003 U.S. Open and he is desperate to prove he’s not a one-Slam wonder. He cried after reaching the semifinals Wednesday, and again after beating Murray on Friday.
HUMBLED BY MOMENT
Roddick usually does a great job describing his feelings, but said he could not put into words what winning Wimbledon would mean.
”I didn’t know if I was going to get to play a Wimbledon final again,” he said. “I’m thankful to have that opportunity.”
Is there a danger he is so excited to make the final he will be satisfied with that?
”That won’t be the case,” he said. “It’s too close.”
Roddick has more than 40,000 followers on Twitter, and has been entertaining them with daily musings. He didn’t need the full 140 characters to express what he was feeling Friday night.
“126 home — 2 left.”
• Hoping to add to the U.S. title haul after Serena Williams’ victory Saturday, top-ranked twins Bob and Mike Bryan fell short and lost the men’s doubles final to defending champions Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimanjic of Serbia, 6-7 (9-7), 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (3-7), 3-6.
It was the third Grand Slam final for Nestor and Zimanjic, who lost in the 2008 French Open final. The Bryans had not dropped a set this Wimbledon, but got broken in the second game of the fourth set and couldn’t recover.
”I remember the scene last year, coming in with two private wives holding hands on their bellies after we won the trophies, and now we have three kids,” said Zimanjic, whose wife had twins in December. ‘To see our names on the winners’ plaque twice in a row is real special. We took a picture. It’s always special to play Centre Court, a full stadium. This is the only place with such a big tradition, and the doubles is still very popular.”