Andy Roddick knows what he has to do next — pull the carpet of invincibility from under the feet of Roger Federer.
The 21-year-old American howitzer lost to the Swiss stylist in last year’s Wimbledon semifinals, saw him snatch away his world number-one spot at January’s Australian Open and spoil the party in his first Wimbledon final on Sunday.
It all means that Federer is number one and Roddick is number two and they are both still in the early years of their careers.
If it’s the start of a rivalry it’s a friendly rivalry. They have mutual respect for each other.
”You know I proved that Roger’s not quite invincible. He’s pretty close, though!” said Roddick of the three-times Grand Slam winner after his 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/3) 6-4 win.
”I proved a lot to myself today. I thought I took it to him and I played the game the way I wanted to play it.
”I just came up short. It was a couple of points here and there. We all kill that term, but today it was really true.”
Fighting talk from the American, but the fact remains that now he has a 1-6 career losing record to the 22-year-old from Basel, his only win being in a third-set tie break in Montreal last year.
While many see Federer as already the complete all-surfaces player, Roddick is still seen as a work in progress particularly by himself.
”A couple of years ago, the first three matches we played, he was just a lot better than me at that time,” he said of Federer.
”He was a lot further along in his development. But our last couple of games have been tight. I just haven’t gotten over the hump.
”I felt today was a step towards the tight direction. I have a lot that I can improve on and I need to focus on that to get better and I will.”
Federer apart, the stakes are high for the popular Nebraskan.
The golden years of American tennis of the past 15 years are all but over with Pete Sampras, Michael Chang and Jim Courier already in retirement and with Andre Agassi on his last legs.
Roddick apart, the immediate prospect does not look too bright especially since James Blake appears to have lost his way.
The American can look ungainly on court and his game is more hard graft and sheer power that finesse and shot-making.
But he wears his emotions on his sleeve and has become a crowd favourite wherever he plays.
Roddick says he is aware of the expectations being laid on him.
”I see it as an opportunity when I wake up every morning to prove stereotypes wrong. I take a lot of pride in that,” he said of his public persona.
But knowing how winning is all in American sports, beating Federer must come first.
He will have the opportunity at the Olympic Games in Athens next month when they will be seeded to meet in the gold-medal final, and after that Roddick will defend his US Open title at Flushing Meadow.
”I’ll have 25 000 of my closest friends behind me, so that wouldn’t be terrible,” he said. — Sapa-AFP