Yes, I'm Still Going On About Roddick. Bite Me.

Jon Wertheim demanded us his Twitter followers to read this article, and just like lemmings we went and did. Don't look at me that way. When I said I was a new fan, I was being serious.

Joe Posnanski did a good job of explaining why he (and I) likes Roddick much better after he lost at Wimbledon. Somehow his fight compels you to relate to him.

Andy Roddick is not George Bailey. He's not ordinary. He's the No. 6 tennis player in the world. He's a multi-multi-millionaire tennis player married to a swimsuit model. He hops around the world and hosts Saturday Night Live and probably wouldn't even want to win the lottery because of the tax complications.

But here's the thing: He wanted to win Wimbledon. I mean, yes, of course he wanted to Wimbledon, but you could see from the first point on that he WANTED to win Wimbledon, that it was hugely important to him, that it was everything to him. You could surmise from his look and intensity that this was, in fact, what he had been dreaming about since he was a little boy. This was his moment, and few really thought he could win. As soon as the match began -- Roddick facing off against maybe the greatest tennis player ever on his favorite surface -- I felt like it was Roddick staring into the mirror and asking himself that same question that I think most people ask themselves at some point in their lives: "Am I good enough?"

And, a video comes with the article. Andy's presser after his loss to Federer in AO 2007. Classic Roddick.

I wonder if it matters much to Andy that he may not have won Wimbledon but amassed more fans? Hmm.

Meanwhile, the now strangely likable Andy was spotted in Soho yesterday getting some retail therapy with wife.

RODDICK PIC SPAM!

Just 'cause I feel like it. I'm so over Wimbledon and 15.

Before receding hairline.

A-Rod's HOYAY moment!

This is after receding hairline, but eh, still kinda worthy.

And now JAILBAIT RODDICK!

Jailbait whomever is always good, okeh? Unless it's Radek.

Fine, so he looks a bit like Stiffler here, so what. Still cute.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW WHO STIFFLER IS??

I have forgotten that he used to be sponsored by Reebok. Thought he was a Nike man. You know, flashy and all.

American charm!

Dare I say his lips here are quite.. tempting?

I daresay.

Male hipbones = sexay.

Roddick hipbones...?

I.. don't know what happened here.

Uh... yeah.

Look, I know he can be douche-y and most of the time I really don't like him. But for better or worse this is a guy who has consistently stayed in the top 10 for 7 years and counting. And after what he brought to the court yesterday, I have to pay him some respects.

Maybe my dislike of him will come back. Surely it would the first match I see him treating the ball boys/girls like errand runners, but in the meantime, you Roddick fans* enjoy this.

*are there any Rod fans reading this site??

Ladies And Gentlemen, Andy Roddick.

Fighter of the tournament.

Shame it was not quite enough.

Andy played his heart out and then some. Scraped the bottom of the barrel. But Roger is, well he's RF (tm Nike). He's got tennis imprinted in his DNA. He only needed a few mistakes from Andy, a single muscle twitch, and it was all over for the American.

To put what he's done in perspective, he's played more hours on court than any other player in the tournament. And yet he still pushed Roger to a 5 setter today. That, my darling readers, is pure grit and tenacity.

He came with a game plan and it worked for 255 minutes. He literally lost at the last minute of the match. His hard work, his discipline in executing his plans deserves so much respect and admiration. Problem is he has this box of talent that he just can't bust through. His style of play is just a little outdated, a little stiff compared to what the younguns are bringing to the courts nowadays. And it breaks my heart because there are so many players out there more talented than him that are not winning matches just because they don't have the drive or discipline.

The world is a little unfair to Andy Roddick 's career and his fighting spirit. But today, he made a fan out of me.

A Gaggle Of Wimbledon Talks

Here are a few articles about whose chances are what in Wimbledon, and what others are saying about The Holy Knees.

The Ginge Hotness (a.k.a Andy Murray) thinks Rafa will play at Wimby while he himself is shouldering quite a bit of pressure.

Nadal is struggling with knee tendonitis which could still force him to miss Wimbledon, but Murray believes the Spaniard will play and be a major contender.

"I'd be surprised if he didn't. I mean, I'm sure his knees are not good but he likes to play a lot," Murray said.

"I think he'll come into Wimbledon with not as much match practice but with the same belief that he can win the tournament."

Murray will shoulder the burden of being the only Briton with a chance of ending the 73-year wait for a home winner at Wimbledon but he is keen to play down expectations.

On the other hand, The Ginge has support in the form of a fellow Brit.

TIM Henman believes it will take "one hell of a performance" for anyone to deny Andy Murray the Wimbledon title this year.

The former British No 1 still rates Roger Federer as favourite for the title and he is confident that injured Spaniard Rafael Nadal will be fit to defend his crown. But Murray, who won his first grass-court match 6-1, 6-4 against Andreas Seppi at Queen's yesterday, boasts a 6-2 career record over Federer and he has beaten Nadal twice in the last year, including the US Open semi-final.

Andy Roddick has been doing everything right lately, from donning pink glitter hats to saying really nice things.

"I'm certainly not going to underestimate Rafa. I think he's going to be there. I think he's going to be fine, and I think he's going to put forth all the effort he has. He's certainly proven that in the past", said Roddick.

The 26-year-old American said he's played with the problem "for years and years and years and years".

"Rafa has had knee tendinitis for a long time and he's won Grand Slams while he's had it", said the Roddick, chasing a fifth career title at Queen's club.

Roddick speaks with experience on the tendinitis which he and Nadal must both deal with. "There is a positive side for Rafa: it's uncomfortable and it's painful, but it's not something that's going to be a career threatening injury if you play on it. It's kind of a fancy term for overuse".

The great Federer agrees with everyone, that Rafa will play and all this knee talk is just pish-posh.

Federer said Monday he didn’t think Nadal’s knee injury will keep him out of Wimbledon, no matter what doom-and-gloom coach Toni Nadal says, and even though Nadal was in Barcelona Monday for two days of tests on his knee.

He pointed out Nadal’s knees weren’t wrapped in Paris — but they haven’t been wrapped all season.

Albeit, amidst all the chirps, this one says it best:

Wimbledon starts in less than two weeks. Forget history; bring on the next Federer-Nadal affaires d'honneur.

Vamos!

Andy & Andy = BFF's?

So Andy Roddick got ahold of a pink glittery cap, took a picture, and posted it on his Twitter.

Somehow, Ginge (okay, Andy Murray) got ahold of the same cap and like Roddick, also took a picture, and shamelessly posted it on his official site.

Pink. Glitter. Male camaraderie. Bring it on.

MONTE CARLO: Saturday's OOP

[1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) vs [3] L Dlouhy (CZE) / L Paes (IND)
Not Before 1:30 PM
[3] N Djokovic (SRB) vs [13] S Wawrinka (SUI)
[1] R Nadal (ESP) vs [4] A Murray (GBR)
N Djokovic (SRB) / V Troicki (SRB) vs [2] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB)

If I'm not mistaken, if Smurfy and Ginge both wins, Ginge will move up to #3 in rankings. If both loses, he still moves up to #3. But if Ginge loses - and I'm just throwing this out there, not saying he really will -  and Nole doesn't, everyone's staying where they are for now.

And yes people, BryBros is still in MC, so no, they're probably not attending Roddick's wedding. Yes I know, gasp and all that, but maybe, just maybe, a Masters title is more important to them than listening to Elton John and eating barbeque? Just sayin'.

Ginge vs Rafa is always fun, even when Rafa's hobbling on one leg ala Rotterdam. Nole vs Roger's BFF, bring it on. Both are playing great so far. I can't wait til tomorrow! *rubs hands in glee*

Indian Wells: Rafa Is Through To Final

Rafa won 64, 76(4).

Suffice to say I didn't expect a different outcome from this match. Rafa will be playing against Andy Murray tomorrow, as The Ginge Hotness dispatched Roger - well not easily, but not with supreme effort either. Might we have a true battle between The Scorching Spaniard and The Ginge Hotness, since we were deprived of it in Rotterdam?

I don't think I can do a full accounting of the match justice since I am literally fighting the blessed darkness of sleep (it's 7.38 AM in my slice of the world), so I will update this post later with my thoughts of the match. You can totally tell I'm flying high without my midnight (or early morning) oil from my use of horrible nicknames. Hey, trying to keep myself awake here, so whatever works.

Do return for the update. I will lure you with a sexeh Rafapic. Belly, biceps... Don't say I don't spoil you all.

Federer Roddick AO 2009

So Roger won 62, 75, 75. Despite the scoreline, it wasn't that close. It was all Andy could do to hold serve, and many times, not even that. Roger was not broken once, and not even a good threat from Andy.

The first 2 sets was just miserable. Andy couldn't keep up with the pace of Roger's balls. He had an altercation with the chair umpire over line calls. I'll get back to that in a moment.

The third set shows much better skills from Roddick. He was hitting winners, less UE's, but also doublefaulted twice, once to bring him back to deuce, where he ended up being broken. But (and I'm sorry to all Roddick fans, should you find yourself wandering here) he really is no match for Federer, new coach or no. Against Roger I find it hard to see all the hard work he's done all season. Roger is just too good. He was unflappable, kept his cool, and played relaxed tennis.

Coming back to the altercation in the first set. Andy was down 3-1. Roger's serve was called out, twice in a row. He challenged both. It was both in. The first one, they were to replay the point. The second time, the point was given to Roger. Andy was uncool with that. He went over and said "did you think I wouldn't have been able to hit that ball?". The umpire at first was unresponsive, saying it is what it is. Andy kept pushing, and finally he said yes Andy, I don't think you could have hit that ball. And Andy, well he just couldn't leave it well enough alone. He kept yapping about it on and on and on and on until the next break, until the next set he was still talking about it. Sometimes I really wish he would just accept that some things will not be changed, and play on. I think it would do him a world of good. I do not believe exerting that much emotion will not affect your game, but maybe that's just me.

To tell you the truth, I think Andy could have hit that ball, but he would've lost the point on the next shot. Roger was doing the serve-ripping forehand routine the whole match and Andy didn't have an answer for it.

If anything, Roger was the one who deserves to be angry. His serve was called out many times and the four times (FOUR!) he challenged, it was all in. By the third one you could see he was trying real hard not to roll his eyes. Andy even waved his hand in front of the line judge. Tell you what, this year's AO is a mess. The indecisiveness about the roof (closed? no? open? no?), the controversial closing of it in the midst of Serena-Svetlana match, the line calling, down to what the  line judges/umpire/ball boys are wearing. Long sleeves? In that heat? Hello?

One heartwarming moment was when Andy got one of his few winners against Roger, and his coach Stefanki let out a smile so wide I'd have thought he was Roddick's father.

That was nice to see. And Roger got catcalls while he was changing his shirt.

Well. I did not hear catcalls curing Rafa's shirtchange yesterday. The only plausible explanation was that every single one the Rafanatics in the audience passed out when Rafa took off his shirt.

Anyhoo. Roger is through to the final. Rafa/Dasco will be waiting. 

Match Stats

Roddick vs Djokovic AO 2009

I'm watching the match right now, and so far each has taken a set (7-6, 6-4) and Djoko is up 2-1 on the third. I have to say Roddick is playing better than him, converted 2/3 breakpoints while Djoko has not.

There's a commotion right now on Djoko's bench. He's called the trainer it seems. Oh man. BAD move. After what happened on the last USO? Just a bad move. I try to like him, I really do try, but he makes it so terribly hard.

This is the first match of Roddick I've watched on this AO and I cannot believe it, but he is playing superbly against Nole. Would be an interesting match if our boy meets him.

UPDATE: Still in 3rd set, Andy is up another 2 breakpoints and Nole has called the officials again. If he retires in this match, I will lose all respect for him. Terrible sportsmanship.

UPDATE 2: surprise surprise, Nole retired. 6-7(3) 6-4 6-2 2-1. We all saw it coming with all the subtlety of an elephant dancing ballet. Some Nole fanatics will probably slam me for this, but I'm sorry. He is just so obvious. At this point it does not matter if he really has injured himself or not. He does this ALL the time.

I hope Andy continues to play as well as he did today. Easy matches makes for boring ones methinks.

Match Stats