Sports Then and Now

After recent struggles, Andy Roddick regained top form in 2009.

This article is the third in a series which talks about how the players fared in the 2009 season…

Amongst the likes of Federer, Rafa, Murray, Nole, Davydenko and Del Potro; Andy Roddick would stand out. These players might have won Masters’ events and tournaments, a trio even managing to grab and bifurcate the four slams between them, but yet, Roddick holds his own place in their midst.

The season might have started off as being Murray and Rafa centric, deviating towards Federer in the middle of the season and later on towards Nole, Del Potro and Davydenko but when it comes to Roddick, it can be said that he has been steadily consistent throughout the season—more often than not maintaining a very low profile, before injury claimed him as its victim.

Starting right off from Doha in January until Montreal in August, excluding the slams, Andy’s performance bracket veers mostly either as a semifinalist or as a finalist; not to mention the fact that post his victory at Memphis, he became the only active player along with Federer to have won at least one ATP tour title for nine consecutive years.

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Roger Clearly at the top of his game, Roger Federer made short work of Andy Roddick in the 2007 Australian Open.

I’ve grown accustomed to your pace…

No one was more acutely aware that Andy Roddick was on a roll during the 2007 Australian Open than Roger Federer. The Swiss No. 1 had been keeping a watchful eye on the progress of Roddick through out the early rounds.

This was the man who had defeated Federer in the semifinals of the Kooyong Classic, a warmup event, a few weeks earlier.

Federer was not really surprised that in the quarterfinals Roddick had rolled over Mardy Fish 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 in about 90 minutes on Rod Laver Arena while committing only two unforced errors. He had seen Roddick accomplish such feats before—especially over Fish. They were buddies and knew each other’s games inside and out.

During his quarterfinal match, Federer, who won the Australian Open in 2004 and 2006, overcame having his serve broken four times in his 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 7-5 win over seventh-seeded Tommy Robredo. Federer would advance to the semifinals where he would meet the American Roddick who had only defeated him once in their 13 meetings.

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Roger Federer hopes to kiss the U.S. Open trophy for a sixth straight year in 2009.

Introduction
From 2004-2008 Roger Federer won the U.S. Open in New York.  Within the confines of Arthur Ashe Stadium Federer has won his last 35 matches in a row during what many call the toughest tournament in tennis.

Once the US Open begins this year, Federer seeks to extend his record winning streak with a record sixth consecutive US Open title.

After winning the 2009 French Open and Wimbledon, the Swiss regained the top ranking.  Federer compiled a total of 15 grand slam  wins – more than any other male tennis player.

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The Wimbledon Final Between Andy Roddick and Roger Federer was one of the best of all-time.

The classic Wimbledon men’s final between Andy Roddick and Roger Federer served as another reminder of why so many of us have a lifelong love affair with sports. Even when we think we know the expected outcome, something magical can happen.

When defending champion Rafael Nadal had to pull out immediately before the tournament, conventional wisdom was that Roger Federer would have an easy time earning his sixth Wimbledon title and record 15th Grand Slam championship.

As the tournament unfolded, little was happening on the court to indicate that anything other than a Federer coronation was likely.

Federer predictably romped his way through the field while the other top players were falling by the wayside.

When Federer trounced Tommy Haas in the semifinals to earn a spot in the finals for the seventh straight year, his date with destiny seemed set.

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