Last time these guys were at a Wimbledon final together was 2005- Federer won.
Roger has a 18-2 winning record against Roddick usually achieved with breadsticks and bagels, by that i mean, 6-1 and 6-0 respectively. I am going to be extremely lazy and direct you all to THIS INTERESTING PAGE, it's not really laziness actually because this brilliantly accurate analysis is much better than what i could give you right now, with detail on the abduction angle, receiving stance, arm rotation on the serve and physical ability.
It's true that a lot of that analysis seems to be in 'survival of the fittest' mode, but it is often ignored when discussing tennis on t.v. or on commentary. Obviously the 'mental edge' is more interesting to talk about and more understandable, as a lot of people will probably not follow flexibility of the 'abductor muscles' but it is hugely intriguing nonetheless especially if you train and play yourself.
Other points to consider:
After the semis yesterday, Roddick half collapsed with emotion on his way up to the changing rooms, purely overwhelmed with what he has achieved. Coming this far after a heavy drought means the world to him, and it hasn't been easy...he played two very gruesome matches leading up to the finals... does he have enough left in the tank for sunday?
Can he hold serve? Can he keep his serve at least 95% first serve percentage? This is actually not a joke!!!! We can all expect a ridiculously dull final if Roddick cannot keep his best weapon polished at least half of the way.....
Its possible Federer will tank, that is, give an easy first few games to Roddick... Andy must not get excited and expend all his energy in the early sets, he should be experienced enough to know this already. Roger can go for hours at a incredibly high level of tennis, Roddick cannot do the same and he needs to really keep this in mind and cut the points short.
| Player | Aces | Ist serve pct. | Sets lost/ Bagels dished | Unforced. Errors - Total/ Winners | Bk pt conv % | Time on court. | Matches played |
| Federer | 77 | 67 | 1 / 0 | 71 / 239 | 49 | 11:29 | 6 |
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| Roddick | 160 | 71 | 6 / 0 | 112 / 331 | 31 | 15:45 | 6 |
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In the rush to gush over Roddick and make up for the preceding 3 weeks of Murray-centric buildup, a lot was made of his 75% service percentage. This ignores the fact that his 2009 percentage is actually 70% anyway, with 78% of the ensuing points going his way, somewhat unsurprisingly.
ReplyDeleteI mean to say, that it is likely we will see a very similar service game today. Also, Roddick needs to contest tiebreakers in his usual manner.
The anomalous statistic Roddick would need to see today is break point conversion - his 2009 success rate is 37%. Given that he will probably receive precisely one opportunity today, that will need to be at 100%.
eww. statistics. this is what it all comes down to.....
ReplyDeleteand yea, good point unfire. i guess with that kind of stat, service percentage may not really be the issue here..
ReplyDeleteif it is all boils down to the break points, then i think it is wise for Roddick to make the most of his improved backhand which has been all the rave recently, and engage cross court play to the weaker ends of fed's game.
however, there is something called mental set, which puts these statistics to shame sometimes.......