Posted: Sat, 25 Jun 2011 09:57 AM - 13,276 Readers
By: Richard Evans
Dropping just six games between them, Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams made big on-court statements as they progressed at Wimbledon Friday. Andy Roddick was forced to leave his best statements for his press conference after he was outplayed by Spanish southpaw Feliciano Lopez, 7-6, 7-6, 6-4.
Roddick had played Lopez seven times before, as recently as Queens two weeks ago on grass and as long ago as 2003 at Indian Wells. He had won all of them, dropping just three sets. So he wasn't prepared for the solidity and occasional brilliance of the tennis he found himself facing on Centre Court as he watched his dreams unravel once again.
"The stuff that's enabled me to beat him seven times, making passing shots under duress, making him play defense on his forehand, he did well today. Mixed up his serve. There weren't a whole lot of patterns. So he played an outstanding match."
Roddick peered out at us from under the peak of his black cap, trying to keep his emotions in check. One wonders, in circumstances like this, how many CEOs could handle the sort of questions sports writers throw at losers if they had just made a terrible mess of a board meeting. Irritability and the occasional explosion would feature, I should imagine. But tennis players usually do pretty well and, today, Roddick was at his best.
"He played better than I did," Roddick continued. "It's easier for me to walk out here with that and move forward than, let's say '08 when I lost to (Janko) Tipsarevic and felt I completely choked or last year when I had a million opportunities and kind of gave it away. Those are tougher to take now, I think. He went big on second serves in those breakers and didn't double once. He played pretty high-risk. He was able to cover up some things that are normally weaknesses. I feel he played as complete a match as he's played against me."
Stats backed that up. Lopez hit 57 winners and made just seven unforced errors. Impressive.
Roddick then got into a big give-and-take with a reporter from the Sun, one of the most notorious British tabloids. He was asked if he felt he would have to play better next year. "I probably played like (expletive) in third rounds and won before, too. The thing you guys have to understand is there's no script. Some days you're going to play well and lose and some days you're going to play like crap and win. Of course you have to come back and play better next year. Is that what you are looking for? I'm confused."
The reporter pressed on, suggesting it was getting harder as the years went by to cling to his dream of winning Wimbledon. "It's similar to the question just asked. What do you do? You keep moving forward until you decide to stop. At this point I've not decided to stop, so I'll keep moving forward."
After a bit more give and take, Roddick finally smiled and said, "I think you're my favorite journalist at this press conference so far."
Reporter: "And you're my favorite tennis player I've spoken to, no shadow of a doubt!"
Roddick went on to talk of his next assignment -- a Davis Cup tie against Spain (and, almost certainly Lopez, again) in his hometown of Austin, Texas. "I'm certainly thankful for the opportunity. It's weird to have my home life in Austin and my tennis life come together for that weekend. It's pretty cool. There's normally such a distinct line between the two. I'm curious to see how it goes."
He was asked if he was going to watch the rest of the Championships when he got home. "I don't usually watch much, to be honest," he replied. "No disrespect but I have a hard time planning my day around watching tennis. I'd rather try to get better at it."
Well played, Andy.
Ryan Harrison was another American loser, but although he played a disappointing fifth set when his match against No. 7 seed David Ferrer resumed today, the teenager had offered a good glimpse of his potential by leading two sets to one. The final score was 6-7, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, but they picked it up with the Spaniard leading 4-2 in the fourth and Harrison was never able to find the momentum that had got him into such a good position on Thursday.
"I was definitely in a better rhythm yesterday, that's for sure," he said after admitting that it was his serve that let him down. "If I tried to force it, I missed it. A lot of it had to do with how well he was returning. I started to feel the pressure."
That showed as Harrison slammed his racket into the turf, a quick glimpse of the temper that Harrison struggles to contain on occasion despite his polite off-court demeanor. "Twice at the beginning of the fifth I got a little frustrated just because I had gone down a break after being two sets to one. But I tried to take a deep breath and relax and just keep my mouth shut."
It was another learning experience for this dedicated young man, who certainly represents the best of the next generation as far as American tennis is concerned. The speed at which he learns will determine how quickly he rises up the rankings.
Venus Williams made sure she took the net away from yet another Spanish player, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. "And it worked," said Venus afterward, well satisfied with a 6-0, 6-2 win. Caroline Wozniacki, who must be seriously bored with having to answer questions about being No. 1 and not having won a Grand Slam, did the only thing she can do and won her second-round match against Virginie Razzano of France 6-1, 6-3.
Maria Sharapova also won, 7-6, 6-3, over on Court One but she had to work a little harder against 17-year-old lefthander Laura Robson, who might just be the answer to Britain's tennis prayers. Sharapova admitted that Robson started far more aggressively than she did and was rewarded with a 4-1 lead in the first set. Good serving, especially wide to the Russian's backhand in the ad court and some powerful forehand drives kept Sharapova at bay for a while. But eventually greater power and experience took over. Robson is an excellent prospect but she will not need to be told that, at her age, Maria won Wimbledon.
After peristent rain washed out play on the outside courts for the remainder of the day, Andy Murray kept the faithful cheering under the roof on Centre Court as he fought his way past the talented Croat, Ivan Ljubicic 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6. At 32, Ljubicic was the oldest man left in the draw but he never gave up, breaking back when Murray served for the match at 5-4. But the Scot dominated the tie-break winning it 7-4 and sending the crowd home in a happy mood.
