Roddick set to retire

[juicystream]

Originally Posted by kaleidosky Roddick went out fighting. American tennis will miss his game.. I hope Isner can be good consistently. As much crap as Roddick catches, I'm sure many heard the commentary today--only he and Federer have won a title in 12 straight years. And he has been in the top 10 for the last 10+ years or something.. very consistently good. Just didn't have the spikes of greatness (that were greater than Federer at his peak, at least) that would have left him with another Slam or 2

Isner is already 27, and hasn't even reached a GS semi. American tennis is screwed for a while.

[PinoyRocket]

it's about time. he's been declining since he won US open. he fooled himself into believing that he was going to be big.

[kaleidosky]

Originally Posted by juicystream Isner is already 27, and hasn't even reached a GS semi. American tennis is screwed for a while.

yeah I agree. I just wanted to throw him in there because the immediate reaction to anyone saying Roddick IS American tennis immediately seems to be "but we have so many young guys! Look how good Isner is"

[kaleidosky]

Originally Posted by PinoyRocket it's about time. he's been declining since he won US open. he fooled himself into believing that he was going to be big.

lol case in point, fools come in and troll about things they don't know about

[Mr. Brightside]

First time I saw Roddick play was in 2001 at the US Clay Court Championships here in town. He was just starting out and he won that tournament. He came back year after year since he became friends with the tournament organizer Mattress Mac. Saw him play at the Masters a few times after that as well.

I remember in his first year he was playing this tournament really late at night (like 1AM) and there were only about 250 people in the stands and it started to rain so they called off the match. It was a good match and fans were disappointed they couldn't watch the match tomorrow since a lot of them didn't have tickets for the next day.

Roddick then took the microphone and announced that he would buy tickets for all the 250 people who were sitting there watching him play at that time. I thought that was really nice of him especially since he was only 18 or 19 at the time. His dad was always with him and always used to rep the Nebraksa Cornhuskers football team.

They were really nice people both him and his dad. He was always down to earth and eager to meet the fans.

One thing I noticed when I first saw him play was his extremely jerky service motion. I thought surely he would have some major rotator cuff/shoulder injury in his career. I was happy he never really had any major issue with that.

Sad to see him go. But I think even though he is still ranked around 20 and can play competitively he knows he has no real shot at cracking the top 5 again. Most males actually are at their physical peak around age 30 so he's right there, but he's played professionally for such a long time now it must be tiring to go through that same training routine for so long.

[AroundTheWorld]

Originally Posted by Mr. Brightside First time I saw Roddick play was in 2001 at the US Clay Court Championships here in town. He was just starting out and he won that tournament. He came back year after year since he became friends with the tournament organizer Mattress Mac.

For some reason, I thought you lived in the Caribbean.

[Ashcoza]

Roddick of course had his flaws, but he left it out all on the court and you couldn't argue that. I actually was introduced to tennis by Roddick years ago. I didn't take the sport as seriously, and seeing his serve, speed, intensity definitely got me hooked. I thought him and James blake served us well. Very shocked he retired out of the blue although you could see him winding down. Fed said somethign interesting that he considered him a wimbeldon champion and he very well could've been.

As far as the future. Donald Young is just a head case. Isner is good but already in his 'prime' and doesnt' look to be a contender. Harrison has shown some flair, but there definitely hasn't been a star in the horizon that i have seen.

[jdh008]

Originally Posted by kaleidosky yeah I agree. I just wanted to throw him in there because the immediate reaction to anyone saying Roddick IS American tennis immediately seems to be "but we have so many young guys! Look how good Isner is"

I tend to agree, but I will say that Isner is not as old as his age would have you think. He's a young 27. He played four years of college tennis, whereas most guys have turned pro by that time. He played dozens upon dozens fewer maches in college than he would have if he was trying to latch on to the tour during that time. Given that his game is based on size and strength and not speed or agility, I think he'll be a very, very good player into his thirties.

Again, I agree on the general premise, but I also think Isner has several more really good years left in him.

[edwardc]

Hope there are more young American men ready to step up there game .

[Mr. Brightside]

Originally Posted by AroundTheWorld For some reason, I thought you lived in the Caribbean.

I currently do. I grew up in Houston though.

[juicystream]

Originally Posted by PinoyRocket it's about time. he's been declining since he won US open. he fooled himself into believing that he was going to be big.

Roddick is still a good player (Top 30 in the world). He didn't decline as much as he never got so lucky to be playing great tennis, and having a great draw. Federer got in his way every time he star. Roddick actually beat Federer this year the one time they played. Roddick is 5-4 against Novak Djokovic.

Like I said before, Roddick played a few years in a relatively weak era of tennis, when Federer was the only great player, but it is still impressive to be Top 10 for a decade.

[juicystream]

Originally Posted by edwardc Hope there are more young American men ready to step up there game .

None. Donald Young was supposed to be the next great American tennis player after dominating juniors, but he is 23, and has yet to make his mark. Our current pros max out at James Blake's level. Blake BTW is still active, but outside the Top 100.

Top American juniors are:

Mitchell Krueger ranked 6th and 18 years old
Noah Rubin ranked 16th and 16 years old
Mackenzie McDonald ranked 17th and 17 years old

[CCorn]

Originally Posted by juicystream None. Donald Young was supposed to be the next great American tennis player after dominating juniors, but he is 23, and has yet to make his mark. Our current pros max out at James Blake's level. Blake BTW is still active, but outside the Top 100. Top American juniors are: Mitchell Krueger ranked 6th and 18 years old Noah Rubin ranked 16th and 16 years old Mackenzie McDonald ranked 17th and 17 years old

Ryan Harrison will be top 100, but nothing special. His younger brother is really good too.

[jdh008]

Originally Posted by CCorn Ryan Harrison will be top 100, but nothing special. His younger brother is really good too.

If I had to bet now on whether or not he would ever win a major, I'd vote no just because that would be where the smart money is, but I think Harrison is going to be more than a solid players whose ranking vacillates between 40-100.

The guy has some serious talent. His game is not all that dissimilar from Roddick's. He has a booming serve, a hard forehand and a bulldog mentality.

According to guys like Patrick McEnroe that have spent a lot of time working with him at USTA training grounds, all that is really keeping him from taking the next step is himself. He gets down on himself if he gets down early in matches and he blows up on umpires, linesman, his box and himself if things don't go his way.

I'm willing to bet that he finds a way to overcome those issues becomes a top 25 player before it's all said and done.

Again, that's not really anything to write home about, but I'm bullish on Harrison's future.

[SkyrimOwnsAll]

USTA is a terrible organization, we have the athletes but not the right coaches to compete with the europeans

[CCorn]

Originally Posted by SkyrimOwnsAll USTA is a terrible organization, we have the athletes but not the right coaches to compete with the europeans

We have the athletes, they just burn out. Playing tennis all my life I've been around players that could have made it, but burned out by the time they were 16.

[jdh008]

Originally Posted by CCorn We have the athletes, they just burn out. Playing tennis all my life I've been around players that could have made it, but burned out by the time they were 16.

Honest question...not trying to argue or be a smart ass. If this is the case, what is different about the way they do it in countries like Spain, Serbia, etc.? By all accounts, the national organizations and tennis schools in these countries work their kids even harder and are more single-minded than the ones we see in the US. And yet, Spain has just pumped out a golden generation of players and Serbia has two guys solidly in the top ten.

Are those great players just outliers that beat the odds of burnout or is there something different about the way they are being brought up?

[CCorn]

Originally Posted by jdh008 Honest question...not trying to argue or be a smart ass. If this is the case, what is different about the way they do it in countries like Spain, Serbia, etc.? By all accounts, the national organizations and tennis schools in these countries work their kids even harder and are more single-minded than the ones we see in the US. And yet, Spain has just pumped out a golden generation of players and Serbia has two guys solidly in the top ten. Are those great players just outliers that beat the odds of burnout or is there something different about the way they are being brought up?

Tennis isn't important in the USA. Why would a top athlete choose tennis in the United States when you can make as much money as a top 50 pro by being a mediocre baseball player?

It is strange to see a sport like Serbia, population what 6 million?, produce more pros. But it's not the training available, many juniors from other countries come to the USA to train at Bolletterri and even Newks.

Look at the juniors who go into tennis. I switched over at 12 from baseball because I grew later than other kids. I wasn't even that good until about 17 when I finally grew. It's hard for tennis to attract top athletes.

[SkyrimOwnsAll]

Originally Posted by CCorn We have the athletes, they just burn out. Playing tennis all my life I've been around players that could have made it, but burned out by the time they were 16.

did you hear the story about Taylor Townsend.. if not google it now

its sad, but USTA and Patric McEnroe is fool


the American drought in tennis is brought on themselves, once Serena is gone, expect the WTA to turn into the ATP... EUROPEAN domination

[SkyrimOwnsAll]

Originally Posted by CCorn Tennis isn't important in the USA. Why would a top athlete choose tennis in the United States when you can make as much money as a top 50 pro by being a mediocre baseball player? It is strange to see a sport like Serbia, population what 6 million?, produce more pros. But it's not the training available, many juniors from other countries come to the USA to train at Bolletterri and even Newks. Look at the juniors who go into tennis. I switched over at 12 from baseball because I grew later than other kids. I wasn't even that good until about 17 when I finally grew. It's hard for tennis to attract top athletes.

Tennis is a very popular sport.. that i love. Americans claim that we dont like tennis, but America has one of the richest histories in tennis. We have the US Open, and many Tier 1 events held in America

This isnt like Wimbledon or Australia