A-Rod: wtf?

[Hodgepodge]

Why hasn't he won at least 5 slams? Even with Roger dominating.

Are his ground strokes no good? I assumed that if he can serve that quick and have those arms that surely his forehand would be very good too.

Discuss?

 

[The Passenger]

i don't follow tennis as closely as others on this board so i could be wrong here but it appears his two biggest problems are - his consistency. his get between his best and worst is enormous, and he has been mentally shattered by the other players at the very pointy end of the rankings

but if he finishes with one grand slam, which is becoming increasingly likely, it will be an unfulfilled career

 

[Allbetsroff]

He isn't good enough.

 

[Caesar]

Whenever I watch Roddick I get the impression that he's not playing as well as he could. He strikes me as somewhat lazy - rather than building a game around his fantastic serve, he seems to just rely on it. He has no hustle, he's hardly bothered developing any kind of net game, and a forehand that could be booming is merely solid.

Honestly, I think the only reason he's been such a mainstay in the top 10 is his prodigious level of talent. Any other player with such a one dimensional game would probably get no higher than hovering around the top 20 or 30.

 

[crowsarethebest]

i don't follow tennis as closely as others on this board so i could be wrong here but it appears his two biggest problems are - his consistency. his get between his best and worst is enormous, and he has been mentally shattered by the other players at the very pointy end of the rankings

but if he finishes with one grand slam, which is becoming increasingly likely, it will be an unfulfilled career

Nah not really. He's always been very consistent- It's just that he's got no major weapon from the baseline. He only has his serve... once it gets into the rallies he's got no firepower and relies on his opponent to make a mistake. He's like Lleyton Hewitt- counterpuncher but with a massive serve. His serve was off last night and you saw the result- he got brutalized by stan.

Roddick is a grinder- he isn't lazy... he was just out-played in every department last night. Wawrinka seems like the bolter this year, every year we see one guy come out and surprise everyone at the Aussie Open (Monfils, Baghdatis, Verdasco etc) and this year it's Stan. Roddick in his earlier days had a MASSIVE forehand- it was just as big as his serve. He was always a tad erratic though in his earlier days- his backhand was week. However over the past few years he's improved his backhand to be a solid shot, a reliable shot. His forehand though has suffered- he now doesn't really have the ability (or mentality) to flatten it out and penetrate his opponent with it- he'll never miss with it but he won't hit many cold winners any more.

His net game's improved immensely since his earlier days- however it's still not that great. It's just average at the moment, he can finish off the easier points but if given a half decent low volley he struggles. He lacks the feel that other guys have on the tour. It's a shame that the A-Rod hasn't gotten more slams, however I think he'll never win one again. Other guys are just too damaging and too powerful- he can't just grind grind grind every match. He needs a weapon from the back, it could've been his forehand but he's too safe with it now-a days. It's more of a mentality issue- he can flatten it out I reckon but he's just so used to brushing up on the ball and being consistent with it.

 

[Hodgepodge]

He loops the ball which is why he has no firepower . . . goes for safety instead of hitting winners.

But i wonder if he has the forehand to be able to hit clean winners even if he tried to.

imo hitting those safe forehands makes no sense unless you have a great defensive game, which roddick does not.

Waste!

 

[iffstarz]

Nah not really. He's always been very consistent- It's just that he's got no major weapon from the baseline. He only has his serve... once it gets into the rallies he's got no firepower and relies on his opponent to make a mistake. He's like Lleyton Hewitt- counterpuncher but with a massive serve. His serve was off last night and you saw the result- he got brutalized by stan.

Roddick is a grinder- he isn't lazy... he was just out-played in every department last night. Wawrinka seems like the bolter this year, every year we see one guy come out and surprise everyone at the Aussie Open (Monfils, Baghdatis, Verdasco etc) and this year it's Stan. Roddick in his earlier days had a MASSIVE forehand- it was just as big as his serve. He was always a tad erratic though in his earlier days- his backhand was week. However over the past few years he's improved his backhand to be a solid shot, a reliable shot. His forehand though has suffered- he now doesn't really have the ability (or mentality) to flatten it out and penetrate his opponent with it- he'll never miss with it but he won't hit many cold winners any more.

His net game's improved immensely since his earlier days- however it's still not that great. It's just average at the moment, he can finish off the easier points but if given a half decent low volley he struggles. He lacks the feel that other guys have on the tour. It's a shame that the A-Rod hasn't gotten more slams, however I think he'll never win one again. Other guys are just too damaging and too powerful- he can't just grind grind grind every match. He needs a weapon from the back, it could've been his forehand but he's too safe with it now-a days. It's more of a mentality issue- he can flatten it out I reckon but he's just so used to brushing up on the ball and being consistent with it.

Top post - Roddick's achilles heel has always been trying to find a way to win rallies from the back of the court. The forehand isn't as flat and penetrative as it used to be and while the backhand has been more consistent - he generally doesn't generate a huge amount of winners off that wing.

The other major obstacle for a lack of GS success has been his arch-rival Federer as he simply doesn't have the game or the mindset to turn him over in best of 5 set matches - despite going so close at Wimbledon in 09. For some odd reason, guys who play the one-handed backhand well at the AO are Roddick's bogeyman (i.e Fed, Wawrinka, Kohlschreiber etc.)

 

[Righteo]

The best I've ever seen him play was the 09 Wimbledon final, he was awesome; just a shame for him he was playing Fed.

 

[pepsi]

The best I've ever seen him play was the 09 Wimbledon final, he was awesome; just a shame for him he was playing Fed.

And that he missed that volley...

 

[Righteo]

And that he missed that volley...

Yeah that was an unbelievable choke, the final set was epic though. The first time in the entire match he was broken and it costed him.

 

[Funkalicous]

He stands too far back in rallies. Behind the "Melbourne" sign at the Aussie Open. Makes it too hard for him to dictate despite having solid ground strokes and good court speed. Too late to change things now, but he really needed to play with a higher degree of risk and skill to be in the top few. Just about the best serve ever though!

 

[Wilso]

He isn't good enough.

This.

The top players outclass him in every aspect (except serve).