Andy Roddick lost to Roger Federer again at the Australian Open. In fact, Federer has defeated him 16 out of the 18 times they have faced each other. Federer clearly gets a better read on Roddick’s serve than anybody else on tour and once you take away Roddick’s serve, or at least neutralize his serve, then he’s in trouble.
In years past, when Roddick lost to Federer, he’s looked a bit shell shocked after the match during the press conference. He’s played well against Federer, sometimes his best tennis, but he continues to get beat by him. His press conference this morning was different though. Here’s a little of what he said:
“[During this tournament] I did a lot of good things. Hit the ball pretty well and, you know, there's a whole laundry list of positives [to take out of it]. Overall, I think it was a good event,” he said.
“Hopefully I can build on this a little bit. If I can keep my form through the first couple weeks here and from Doha [earlier in the year], you know, [I] should have a better year than the last couple.
“As long as I decide to play this game, I'm going to do what I can to try to improve out there. There's no reason for me not to.”
Roddick has a new coach, who insisted that he lose 15 pounds, and he did. He also beat Novak Djokovic the other night—the defending champion of the tournament—and surely that has given him a little more confidence. But I sensed something else in Roddick that I haven’t sensed before—a refusal to accept his lot without a fight. In the past, he’s always done things his way and if it didn’t work, then he figured he had done his best. Now he’s listening to someone now—his coach. He has a plan; he’s working it; and it seems to have given him a quiet resolve he’s never had before.
