Andy Roddick Grinds On to the Fourth Round

For two sets on Friday, Robin Haase of the Netherlands overpowered the No. 8 seed Andy Roddick. Taking advantage of Roddick’s tentative, defensive play, a fearless Haase was rewarded for his aggression.

But, true to form, Roddick used a combination of big serves and overall consistency to pull out the match, 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-2.

During a post-match interview on television, Roddick admitted to being outplayed the first two sets. He lauded Haase’s simple initial game plan: “See ball. Hit ball.”

Roddick’s serve kept him in the match long enough for the pressure to get to Haase, who at 23 was playing in the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. As Haase lost confidence, Roddick responded by hitting bigger serves (he had 32 aces for the match), pushing forward (even though he only won 53 percent of his points at net) and going for his groundstrokes.

It was the kind of play many of Roddick’s critics have been calling for.

But what is sometimes lost in much of the criticism is that under Larry Stefanki’s tutelage, Roddick has improved nearly every facet of his game: fitness, serve variety, volleying, court coverage and shot selection. He has become a patient, thinking player. He makes far fewer mistakes than he used to and is able to grind out victories against all but the very best players.

His biggest liability, the backhand, has improved too. He has added an effective pace-neutralizing slice that often stays down, giving him a low-risk way to slow a point while controlling court position.

The backhand slice is an important component in Rafael Nadal’s defensive shield. And Roger Federer and Steffi Graf perfected that rarest kind – the slice winner.

The problem with Roddick’s slice is that he often uses it in non-defensive situations but doesn’t have Nadal or Andy Murray’s speed to chase down would-be winners. Nor does he have Federer’s ability to slice and dice opponents. Roddick’s backhand is adequate against less experienced, less consistent players like Haase. But it remains a liability against the top players, who can explode off both wings.

Against players ranked outside of the top 10, Roddick is 524-120. He is just 35-62 against top 10 opponents, including a miserable 2-20 versus Roger Federer. When asked what separates Nadal and Federer from the pack, Roddick said on Friday, “They don’t fluctuate. It’s pretty much high quality throughout.”

If Roddick is to advance much further in Melbourne, he will need more than patience to overcome that kind of consistent quality and power. He will need to attack and dictate points from start to finish. Against the best, his slice won’t cut it.

News From: straightsets.blogs.nytimes.com