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Federer–Roddick rivalry

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The tennis players Roger Federer (Switzerland) and Andy Roddick (United States) have a long, though lopsided, rivalry. They have met 21 times during their careers, with Federer leading their overall head-to-head series 19–2. Roddick is Federer's most frequent opponent on tour.[1] Roddick has lost four Grand Slam finals, each time to Federer: Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Open in 2006. On February 2, 2004, Federer supplanted Roddick as World No. 1 to begin his record reign of 237 consecutive weeks at #1. Federer and Roddick are the only players to have finished each tennis season in the ATP top 10 every year from 2002 through 2010.

History

Grand Slam meetings

2003 Wimbledon

Roger Federer and Andy Roddick met in a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in the semifinals of the 2003 Wimbledon Championships. The stakes were high as neither man had reached a Grand Slam final before. Roddick was defeated in straight sets 7–6, 6–3, 6–3.

After the match Federer was asked how he felt going into his first ever Grand Slam final. He replied, "It's incredible right now. It is my favourite tournament so it is a dream."[2]

Federer went on to defeat Mark Philippoussis in the final 7–6(5), 6–2, 7–6(3) to win his first ever Grand Slam title and fulfill his childhood dream of winning Wimbledon. [3]

2004 Wimbledon

Roddick and Federer would meet once again at Wimbledon, this time in the final with the stakes much higher. Roddick, at that time the reigning U.S. Open champion, was out to reclaim the world number 1 ranking that Federer had taken from him several months prior after winning the Australian Open. Roddick came out firing on all cylinders before a break of serve secured him the first set at 6-4. Federer gradually began to read Roddick's powerful serve and won the second set. Roddick had the edge early in the third set, until a rain delay helped blunt his momentum. Federer saved numerous break points, weathering the storm to win the third set tiebreaker. He went on to win his second straight Wimbledon title with a 4–6, 7–5, 7–6, 6–4 victory over Roddick.

During the trophy presentation Roddick made a memorable quote; when asked how he felt of his play, Roddick responded in laughter, "I threw the kitchen sink at him but he went to the bathroom and got his tub."[4] When asked about his most difficult Wimbledon final to-date after defeating Rafael Nadal in the 2006 final, Federer himself cited this match against Roddick.

2005 Wimbledon

For the third straight year Federer and Roddick would meet at Wimbledon, the second year in a row in the final. Federer produced a grand tennis display as he comfortably defeated Roddick 6–2, 7–6(2), 6–4.

At the time Federer claimed this was the greatest match he's ever played up to the point, while Roddick responded, "I'm more in the mood for a beer than a chat right now", after his eighth defeat in nine matches against Federer.[5]

2006 US Open

Roddick and Federer would meet again in the finals of a grand slam for the third consecutive year, this time on the hard courts of the US Open on Roddick's preferred surface where he was the champion in 2003.

Unlike their previous final encounters, Roddick was a surprise finalist on this occasion. The American crowd was firmly behind the underdog Roddick, but this had little effect on the Swiss Maestro's performance as Federer was the better player once again. Despite an unexpectedly close start to the match (a set-all and 5-5 in the third set), Federer won 8 of the final 9 games to defeat Roddick in four sets 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1, claiming his third straight US Open championship. This marked the second year in a row that Federer had defeated an American in the final of the US Open after defeating Andre Agassi in the previous US Open final.[6]

2007 Australian Open

Federer and Roddick met in their second Grand Slam semifinal, the previous one at 2003 Wimbledon. This match was Federer's most dominant performance and victory over Roddick in which he dismantled the Roddick serve seemingly at will for a 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 victory. Roddick's humorous commentary at the following press conference was well remembered and liked by fans. He was asked, "Can you just take us from 4‑All on. Up to 4‑4, you're in the match. Then you got broken." Roddick replied, "Yeah, I got broken. Then I got broken three more times. Then I got broken two more times in the third set. Then it was over 26 minutes later. Is that what you saw, too?" [7]

Federer went on to defeat Fernando González in the final 7–6(2), 6–4, 6–4 to win his third Australian Open title and tenth Grand Slam title overall.

2007 US Open

For the first time, Andy Roddick and Roger Federer would meet in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam, having been drawn unluckily into the same corner as the 1st and 5th seeds respectively. Roddick once again threw the kitchen sink at Federer in an epic 7-6, 7-6, 6-2 defeat at the hands of Roger Federer. Many analysts considered this to be Roddick's strongest performance against Federer since their 2004 Wimbledon final, but Federer was simply in a different gear during crucial points and during the first and second set tiebreaks.[8] After winning his semifinal match against Nikolay Davydenko, Federer went on to win his fourth straight US Open title defeating Novak Djokovic in the final 7–6, 7–6, 6–4.

2009 Australian Open

After failing to meet during 2008 in any of the four Slams they once again met each other in the semifinals of the first Slam of the year. Both players had recovered from injury and Roddick was equipped with a new coach in Larry Stefanki and was 10 pounds lighter and faster. Despite Roddick's new fitness and new coach, the outcome was the same as their previous matches as Federer defeated Roddick 6-2, 7-5, 7-5 in straight sets with little trouble once again to advance to his fourth Australian Open final in the past six years.[9]

This is the first time that Federer defeated Roddick in a Grand Slam and did not also go on to win the championship. Federer went on to lose the final to Rafael Nadal in an epic five setter 7–5, 3–6, 7–6(3), 3–6, 6–2.

2009 Wimbledon

Federer and Roddick met for the fourth time in a Grand Slam final and their third Wimbledon final overall at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships. Federer won the epic match 5–7, 7–6(6), 7–6(5), 3–6, 16–14 keyed by saving four set points down 2-6 in the second-set tiebreaker that would have given Roddick a two-sets-to-love lead. The win was historic as Roger Federer won his 15th Grand Slam championship breaking the previous record of 14 held by Pete Sampras. Many commentators and analysts gave Roddick slim hope of standing in Federer's path of re-writing the history books, predicting a comfortable three or four set victory for Federer due to his 18-2 record against Roddick. However Roddick proved them otherwise, pushing Federer to an epic fifth set that consisted of 30 games and lasted a record-long 95 minutes.

Despite Roddick's defeat, many tennis critics consider this to be the best tennis performance of Roddick's career. Roddick set a Grand Slam finals record with 39 games won, including two breaks of serve against Federer that won him the first and fourth sets. In addition, Roddick's serving performance was phenomenal, as Federer failed to break Roddick's serve up until the end at championship point. This is the first time in 8 Grand Slam meetings that Roddick has managed to remain unbroken against Federer for four consecutive sets, as well as each man holding serve for 29 games into the fifth set. At 30 games, the fifth set broke the 82-year record of 20 games set in the 1927 French Championships.[10] The match as a whole, at 77 games, also broke the record of total games, both at Wimbledon (the previous record being 62 in the Federer-Nadal match the previous year) and at Grand Slams (the previous record was 71 in the 1927 Australian Championships).[10]

The quality of play between both men was staggeringly good throughout the entire match. In total they combined for 181 winners (107 by Federer and 74 by Roddick) out of a total 436 points played in the match. Federer out-served Roddick's 27 aces with 50 aces, the most of any match he has ever played, and second all-time at Wimbledon behind Ivo Karlović's record of 51.[10]

The final had the highest number of viewers in the UK of any Wimbledon final since 2001.[11]

Masters 1000 Series meetings

2003 Canada Masters

Federer, fresh off his Wimbledon victory several weeks prior in which he knocked Roddick out in the semifinals, would once again meet Roddick in a semifinal, this time at the Canada Masters in Montreal. The world number 1 ranking was also on the line for Federer had he defeated Roddick, but Roddick would prevail in a tough three-setter 6–4, 3–6, 7–6(3). Roddick was down a break in the third set but Federer's momentum was disrupted after a fan entered the court and halted play. When play resumed, Roddick fought back to force a tiebreak in which he defeated Federer for the first time in five meetings. Roddick went on to win the title after defeating David Nalbandian in the final 6–1, 6–3.[12]

Federer was asked how he felt about the incident on court and how he was feeling to not capitalize on his chance to become world number 1. "It's a pity", Federer said. "I've never been No. 1, but I've never been No. 2, either, and now I'm No. 2. So let's take the positive side of the story."

After beating Federer in Montreal, Roddick went on to win the Cincinnati Masters and the US Open, completing the US Open series sweep. As a result of Roddick's success during the American hardcourt season, he would come from behind in the rankings to finish the year ranked number 1 and would deny Federer the world number 1 ranking during the 2003 season up until Federer's victory at the 2004 Australian Open.

2004 Canada Masters

Federer and Roddick met in the finals of the 2004 Canada Masters. Andy Roddick was the defending champion, but Roger Federer defeated him 7–5, 6–3, in the final.[13]

2005 Cincinnati Masters

Federer and Roddick met in the finals of the 2005 Cincinnati Masters. Federer defeated Roddick 6-3, 7-5, in the final.[14]

2008 Sony Ericsson Open

Federer and Roddick met in the quarterfinals of the 2008 Sony Ericsson Open (Key Biscayne). This was Roddick's second win over Roger Federer. Roddick had displayed an excellent match to get through 7–6(4), 4–6, 6–3[15].

2009 Sony Ericsson Open

Federer and Roddick met in the quarterfinals of the 2009 Sony Ericsson Open (Key Biscayne). The fifth seeded Roddick, fell to the second seeded Federer, 3–6, 6–4, 4–6.[16]

2009 Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open

Federer and Roddick met for the first time in their careers on clay in the quarterfinals of the 2009 Madrid Masters. The change of surface did little to help Roddick as once again Federer beat him 7–5, 6–7(5), 6–1.

One would guess that the slower conditions would favor Federer immensely, however the advantage was neutralized as Roddick was actually able to return serve much better than he usually does against Federer on grass and hard courts. Playing on clay gave Roddick extra time to read and return Federer's serve, winning 51% of the points off Federer's second serve. In spite of this, Roddick only managed to obtain three break points during the match and only convert one of them, while being broken himself four times.

The match was close for the first two sets as Roddick capitalized on an unforced error from Federer in the second set tiebreak to draw even and force a third set, but any momentum was quickly stifled by Federer as he took control of the deciding set and cruised to victory at 6–1. Federer would then defeat Juan Martín del Potro in the semifinals and continue on to end a year-and-a-half long Master Series title drought as he defeated his other rival Rafael Nadal in the final 6–4, 6–4. Ironically, Roddick was the only man who managed to win a set against Federer in the entire tournament.[17]

Other Meetings

2002 Davidoff Swiss Indoors

One of the earliest meetings between Federer and Roddick came in October 2002, in the quarterfinals of Federer's hometown tournament in Basel, Switzerland. At the time both were relative "up-and-comers" on the ATP Tour, neither having reached a Grand Slam final (though they would both win their first Grand Slam title in the next year); Federer was ranked 8th and Roddick 12th at the time. The match itself was not particularly memorable, a comfortable 7-6, 6-1 victory for Federer. What is remembered is an incredible game which took place at 3-1 in the second set with Roddick serving. On the opening point, Federer returned a typically powerful serve with a slice backhand, bringing Roddick in and forcing him into two lunging volleys to keep the point alive - Roddick, displaying his own tremendous reach, seemed to forcefully put the point away with a smash at the net. Too much force, as it turned out - the ball sailed so high into the air that it bought Federer time to recover, and he raced into the direct opposite corner of the court and hit almost an overhand 'squash' shot that sliced back in for the winner. As the crowd roared its approval, a stunned Roddick jokingly threw his racquet at Federer's feet, similar to how a boxer who wishes to quit will "throw in the towel". Roddick walked across the net to retrieve the racquet and continue the game - which featured three additional stunning points by Federer to break at love. Among tennis fans this has gained a degree of legendary status as "the best return game ever".[citation needed]

Head-to-head statistics

Results on each court surface

List of all matches

ATP, Davis Cup, and Grand Slam main draw results included.

No. Date Tournament, Location Surface Round Winner Score Length (H:MM) Federer Roddick
1. 2001 Davidoff Swiss Indoors, Basel, Switzerland Carpet QF Federer 3–6, 6–3, 7–6(5) 1:41 1 0
2. 2002 Medibank International, Sydney, Australia Hard SF Federer 7–6(3), 6–4 1:21 2 0
3. 2002 Davidoff Swiss Indoors, Basel, Switzerland Carpet QF Federer 7–6(5), 6–1 1:10 3 0
4. 2003 Wimbledon, London, Great Britain Grass SF Federer 7–6(6), 6–3, 6–3 1:43 4 0
5. 2003 Masters Series Canada, Montreal, Canada Hard SF Roddick 6–4, 3–6, 7–6(3) 1:56 4 1
6. 2003 Tennis Masters Cup, Houston, USA Hard SF Federer 7–6(2), 6–2 1:02 5 1
7. 2004 Wimbledon, London, Great Britain Grass Final Federer 4–6, 7–5, 7–6(3), 6–4 2:31 6 1
8. 2004 Masters Series Canada, Toronto, Canada Hard Final Federer 7–5, 6–3 1:25 7 1
9. 2004 Thailand Open, Bangkok, Thailand Hard Final Federer 6–4, 6–0 0:57 8 1
10. 2005 Wimbledon, London, Great Britain Grass Final Federer 6–2, 7–6(2), 6–4 1:41 9 1
11. 2005 Masters Series Cincinnati, Cincinnati, USA Hard Final Federer 6–3, 7–5 1:15 10 1
12. 2006 US Open, New York, USA Hard Final Federer 6–2, 4–6, 7–5, 6–1 2:25 11 1
13. 2006 Tennis Masters Cup, Shanghai, China Hard RR Federer 4–6, 7–6(8), 6–4 2:29 12 1
14. 2007 Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia Hard SF Federer 6–4, 6–0, 6–2 1:23 13 1
15. 2007 US Open, New York, USA Hard QF Federer 7–6(5), 7–6(4), 6–2 2:01 14 1
16. 2007 Tennis Masters Cup, Shanghai, China Hard RR Federer 6–4, 6–2 1:01 15 1
17. 2008 Masters Series Miami, USA Hard QF Roddick 7–6(4), 4–6, 6–3 1:55 15 2
18. 2009 Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia Hard SF Federer 6–2, 7–5, 7–5 2:05 16 2
19. 2009 Masters Series Miami, USA Hard QF Federer 6–3, 4–6, 6–4 2:03 17 2
20. 2009 Madrid Masters 1000, Madrid, Spain Clay QF Federer 7–5, 6–7(5), 6–1 2:11 18 2
21. 2009 Wimbledon, London, Great Britain Grass Final Federer 5–7, 7–6(6), 7–6(5), 3–6, 16–14 4:16 19 2
Legend (2001–2008)
Grand Slam
Tennis Masters Cup
ATP Masters Series
ATP International Series Gold
ATP International Series
Davis Cup
Legend (2009–present)
Grand Slam
ATP World Tour Finals
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
ATP World Tour 500 Series
ATP World Tour 250 Series
Davis Cup

Analysis

Roddick, who holds the 155-mph record for the fastest serve in tennis history,[18][19] has one of the strongest first serves of any player in professional tennis.[19] However, Federer has the ability to read the serve and then use his fast reflexes to neutralize it, as he has done against several big servers throughout his career, including Ivo Karlović, Mark Philippoussis, Goran Ivanišević, and even Pete Sampras during their 2001 match at Wimbledon. Once Roddick's serve has been returned in play, Federer's superior movement and shotmaking have been consistently able to control the subsequent rallies.[20][21] This has led to his winning record in the head-to-head against Roddick. Additionally, Federer's own serve, often overlooked when being compared with Roddick's has proved very effective; he served 50 aces in the 2009 Wimbledon final, and has out-aced Roddick in 19 of their 21 meetings to date.

Both men play right-handed and have similar strengths with strong serving and accurate forehands. However, Federer's better mobility and keener ability to read and return serve is regarded as the main reason why Roddick has so much difficulty beating Federer, and also accounts for why Federer wins many of their sets that have gone to tiebreaks.

As result of their strong serves, many of their sets indeed have gone to tiebreaks in their tighter and closer matches in which Federer was unable to break the Roddick serve. For their entire careers up until the 2008 Sony Ericcson Open, Federer had lost only a single set tiebreak to Roddick during the course of 16 matches, the previous tiebreak loss coming at the 2003 Rogers Cup in Montreal. Federer leads the head to head of tiebreak sets won at 12-3.[22]

References

  1. ^ Araton, Harvey (2009-07-05). "On the Way to a Marathon, Federer Keeps His Footing". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
  2. ^ "Federer Destroys Roddick". BBC. 2003-07-04. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  3. ^ "Inspired Federer Wins Wimbledon". BBC. 2003-07-06. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  4. ^ Newbery, Piers (2009-07-04). "Federer fights back to retain title". BBC. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  5. ^ Cheese, Caroline (2009-07-04). "Federer seals Wimbledon hat-trick". BBC. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  6. ^ Federer claims US Open hat-trick
  7. ^ Other memorable exchanges came when Roddick was asked if he thought Federer was getting progressively better, to which Roddick replied, "You've been around the last three years, haven't you?" Later a reporter asked if Roddick would sleep well, to which he responded, "Depends on how much I drink tonight." Before wrapping up one member of the press corps commented sympathetically "your performance here is better than on court", prompting Roddick to say "No shit. If there were rankings for press conferences I wouldn't have to worry about dropping out of the top five, I hope." Larson, Bob (2007-01-25). "Australian Open: Andy Roddick, Jan 25, 2007". Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  8. ^ Coffey, Wayne (2007-09-06). "Federer rolls over Roddick and into U.S. Open semifinals". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  9. ^ "Federer reaches Aussie final". ESPN. 2009-01-29. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  10. ^ a b c "Factbox: Men's singles final records". Reuters. 2009-07-05. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  11. ^ Deans, Jason (2009-07-06). "More than 11 million watch Roger Federer win Wimbledon final on BBC". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
  12. ^ Roddick beats Federer to reach final
  13. ^ 2004 Canada Masters - Singles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
  14. ^ ATP World Tour Masters 1000 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
  15. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Sony_Ericsson_Open_-_Men's_Singles
  16. ^ 2009 Sony Ericsson Open - Men's Singles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
  17. ^ 2009 Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open - Men's Singles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
  18. ^ "Tennis Physics: Anatomy of a Serve". Popular Mechanics. 2007-09. Retrieved 2009-07-05. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ a b "Roddick Needs Serve and Aggression to Beat Federer". Bloomberg. 2009-07-04. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  20. ^ MacDonald, Geoff (2009-07-05). "Federer Beats Roddick in a Marathon Wimbledon Final". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  21. ^ Perrota, Tom (2008-05-19). "Viewpoint: Don't put a line under Roddick's career just yet". Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  22. ^ Federer vs. Roddick Official Head To Head Scores
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