It's easy, for even the most rabid of tennis fans, to only pay attention to the top players. Time and again, Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal show their ability to run deep in tournaments and, for the most part, staying healthy. There was a brief time, in the early 2000s, when Andy Roddick was expected to
Andy Roddick had been on the top of men's rankings for so long that it seems a shame to see how far he's fallen. Injuries have meant that Roddick has missed a few weeks or more each year. A noted hard-worker, Roddick's training may have lead to additional injuries. Roddick did not play any of
There was a brief period, sometime around 2003, when Andy Roddick must have felt he was escaping from Pete Sampras's long shadow, that he would be the American heir apparent, the next in a long line of American tennis players that had dominated world tennis since the early 1990s. Little would he know that this
While the big event is in Dubai, with three of the top four players in the field, there are, as always, other tournaments being played. There have been a series of American tournaments played: at San Jose, then Memphis, and now in Delray Beach. There's also been tournaments in the rest of the Americas on
Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt go way back. Hewitt was contending for Slams nearly a decade ago winning a US Open in 2001. Roddick followed suit two years later. The two were considered rivals for the number 1 spot. All this was, of course, prior to Federer breaking out and leaving both of them in
The match served as a microcosm of what both players are trying to achieve. For Andy Murray, he's long been criticized for being too passive. In the past, he ignored those who made the criticism but realized there was one player that was making his life difficult, namely, Rafael Nadal. Nadal, more than any other
Everyone knows that Andy Roddick used to play a more aggressive game back in his youth and everyone knows in the past few years, he's gone to a more conservative, passive style. For a long time, the combination of his big serve and the ability to hang in long rallies was enough to beat most
When Pete Sampras was playing Andre Agassi, he seemed to have supreme confidence. No matter how well Agassi had been playing or how poorly Sampras had played, if the two met, Sampras believed his serve and his groundies could bother Agassi. Agassi would think he could play with Sampras but he'd lose a few points
Basel Djokovic steamrolled over Kubot, 61 62. Stan Wawrinka was bullied by Robin Haase for a set but came back strong and took sets 2 and 3: 46, 61, 62 Andy Roddick also dropped the first set to Radek Stepanek before coming back in 3 sets: 26, 63, 63 Quaterfinals have Djokovic taking on Baghdatis,
Last year, Andy Murray had a bit of luck winning Shanghai. The draw was set for Murray to meet Nadal in the semis. Except Nadal never got to the semis, losing early to Jurgen Melzer. Murray didn't face his first true tough competitor until the finals, but Murray dispatched Roger Federer pretty easily. And, to
