Top Spin Blog » Andy Murray

Roddick Fights Back, Isner Cut Down

Joe Samuel Starnes — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 14:13:01 +0000

Andy Roddick fought back deep in the fourth set and dominated the fifth to overcome Fernando Gonzalez and his rowdy Chilean fans in Melbourne. The biggest point of the match was a Roddick shot at set point that was called out but the review overruled and deemed it good, much to Gonzalez’s dismay, who had let the ball go without reaching for it. Gonzalez insisted he had a play on the ball, but the umpire did not agree. It gave Roddick the set and the momentum to close it out. This was a reversal of the situation that set Roddick off after his win over Tomaz Belluci into a cursing tirade, even after he won the match. The lesson here for both playerrs, as pointed out by Patrick McEnroe, is play the ball. Roddick’s chance look good for a semi, with a date against Marin Cilic in the quarters, against whom he has a 1-1 career record.

The other American in the round of 16, big John Isner, fought Andy Murray tough, holding a set point in the first, but ultimately being overcome by the crafty Scotsman. For some British sports writing hyperbole of the highest order, check out the Guardian’s coverage of the match, with lines like these: Murray “reduced the 6ft 9inJohn Isner to a drained and dispirited wreck”; or “This was a match made in tennis heaven, given the perfectly meshed and contrasting styles of the combatants. Isner charged in on stilt-like legs behind his booming serve.”

Although Murray ran him ragged, look for Isner to have a big year, though, especially on the fast courts. How about a Wimbledon win for Isner to give the Brits more fodder for alliteration and metaphor?

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Red Hot Americans Roll on in Australian Open

Joe Samuel Starnes — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:31:21 +0000

The big servers with the big streaks came through on Friday in Australia. John Isner started strong and finished well in the tiebreakers to beat Gael Monfils in four sets, and Andy Roddick survived a tough four-setter against Feliciano Lopez, placing each in the round of 16.

Roddick has been here many times before, but this is only Isner’s second time this far in a Grand Slam, following up on his fourth-round appearance in the 2009 U.S. Open (where he beat Roddick in five sets). The big Bulldog is hot, having won his first ATP tournament in Auckland preceding his run this week in Melbourne. Roddick also came in on a winning streak, having won the tourney in Brisbane.

Isner, my fellow Georgia alumnus who anchored a NCAA championship team for UGA, played so well last night I can forgive him for wearing Georgia Tech colors, certainly forced on him by Nike. For some reason the trend in tennis this year is for blue courts and shirts the color of tennis balls.

His next test is a tough one in No. 5 seed Andy Murray. Roddick plays Fernando Gonzalez, the Chilean who won a fantastic five-set match of high-powered ball bashing against Evgeny Korolev of Kazakhstan. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any two players hit the ball so hard as they did, particularly Korolev. It undoubtedly is the greatest Kazakhstan-Chile sports competitions of all times.

Isner is going to have to serve impeccably to beat Murray. It’s great to have another American this far in the tourney with Roddick, especially one who played four years of college tennis. It’s been a long time since a top American star who played even a year of college tennis — back to John McEnroe or Jimmy Connors, I believe — much less four.

Roddick and Isner with two more wins each could meet in the semifinals. Here’s hoping it happens. We are long overdue for another American star to join Roddick in the top 10. I just hope he can do it in red. But whatever color he wears, I’ll be cheering for him.

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July 4 Weekend Special: An All-American Wimbledon Sweep?

Joe Samuel Starnes — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:16:42 +0000

The possibility of a big American broom sweeping the four biggest Wimbledon trophies is still alive at this advanced semifinal date. It seems very likely that the Williams sisters will win the women’s doubles, and one of them will take home the singles crown. The Bryan brothers are favored to win the men’s doubles, but James Blake and Mardy Fish are also in the running. The biggest hurdle will be if Andy Roddick can win the singles, having to best both Andy Murray and most likely Roger Federer. A long shot, yes, but it could happen, and would be the biggest tennis weekend for the U.S. in a very long time.

Even if it doesn’t, the men’s doubles final could be an all-American affair for the first time in 26 years. The No. 1 seeded Bryan brothers and the unseeded team of good friends James Blake and Mardy Fish have both reached the semifinals of the Wimbledon men’s doubles draw, making it possible for the first all American men’s doubles final since 1983. That year John McEnroe and Peter Fleming beat the Gullikson twins, Tim and Tom.

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Report from the “Heat Wave” on Wimbledon’s Murray Hill

Joe Samuel Starnes — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:33:04 +0000

My good friend and tennis teammate Marc Obertholtzer is at Wimbledon today and sent this update via Blackberry:

I am sitting on Murray Hill, with thousands of hopeful Brits, cheering the country hero. He is down a break in the first, but it is early.

It has been a long day so far. Up at 6 a.m., had to take several tube rides, and we landed in the queue at 8 a.m. Even though we were numbers 6,577 and 6,578 in the queue, we got in by 11:30, in time for the start of play. We saw juniors battle, saw the Bryan brothers roll from the first row, watched Black and Huber squeak out a tough win, Wozniacki lose, and from the big screen, Federer and now Murray. We were even treated to a rain delay – what are the odds of that?

Other tidbits:

- they have a “heat wave” – it is about 83 degrees

- we saw an old lady line judge get clocked in the head with a 128 mph serve.

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Wimbledon’s Roof Yet Another Unfair Advantage for Tennis Elite

Joe Samuel Starnes — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:06:18 +0000

Sooner or later, Wimbledon’s over-hyped roof will close over Centre Court, satisfying TV audiences worldwide with a live, premier match instead of network time-killing with rain delay replays of last year’s matches, most certainly the Nadal-Federer final, since that’s all we’ll see of the Spaniard over the coming fortnight.

It is possible the roof might not close. London bookies have dropped the odds of sunny weather keeping the roof open during the entirety of the tournament, making it the “great white elephant of sport,” to 6-1 from 10-1. But I wouldn’t bet on it not raining in London until July 6.

While the roof will be hailed by the incessant talking heads, it is just one in a series of bad moves for the pro game, a game that each year caters more and more to the top players, distancing them from the hoi polloi of players outside of the top ten.

A tennis tournament should be equitable in treatment of all players in the draw. Everyone, from the 104-ranked player in the world to the No. 2 seed with 14 Grand Slams should be treated the same. However, when Roger Federer steps up for his much-anticipated coronation over the next two weeks, he will not have to worry about rain delays due to the roof. He also will not worry about bad calls since the premier courts all have the laser precise appeal system. When the roof is closed, he won’t even have to worry about wind or the sun in his eyes. Same goes for the hometown favorite Andy Murray (who, by the way, is my pick to win) who will almost certainly be slotted on Centre Court.

For all unseeded players going head to head in early rounds, and even some lower seeds, they’ll be on outer courts subject to rain, wind and bad calls that cannot be appealed because not every court has the appeal system. They might as well be playing in a different tournament.

There are hundreds of players in the ATP rankings battling every day, traveling the world for a shot to play in one of the 128 spots in the Wimbledon draw. When they finally break through to play a Grand Slam, they deserve better than second-class treatment — favoring the elite players with a roof is increasing the already broad gap.

Hopefully, the men’s game will not take the next and much-discussed move, one that the women’s game has already implemented in some tournaments, by allowing coaching during matches. Who will this help the most? The elite player, of course, as they are the ones who make the most money and have the most to spend on the best coaches. Watch the rich get richer.

Everyone in the draw should be treated the same. The rain should fall on everyone, not just the lower-ranked.

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Wimbledon Picks: Nadal and Everyone Else

Joe Samuel Starnes — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 11:20:47 +0000

Rafa is rearing to go all the way. I think that Radek Stepanek with his all-court game will run into Nadal in the round of 16, and will give him more trouble than most, but I don’t think anyone can beat Rafa this year, not even the Fed. Having a special logo with his initials on his hat is just not enough for Federer anymore.

I agree with ATP Tennis Blog that there is no telling how Roddick-Blake will turn out. A match between two hard-hitting friends is hard to call, although the more generous of the two (in this case, Blake), usually loses in these sorts of matchups. It’s strange to me that two players so closely ranked have played so rarely of late, and never in a Grand Slam.

I think a big upset will be Santoro over Murray in the first round. The combination of the UK pressure and all that spin will be too much for Murray. Even his mother is being interviewed in depth.

Here are my fourth round picks:

Fed-Gonzo
Kohlschreiber-Llodra

Djoker-Wawrinka
Karlovic-Nalbandian

Roddick-Blake
Mathieu-Ljubicic

Anderson-Haas
Stepanek-Nadal

How do you see it turning out? Check out the draw, and post your picks in the comments field.

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