Roddick Repents After US Open Rant
Andy Roddick: You're doing it wrong!
Andy Roddick admitted his petulant rant over a foot fault in his second-round loss to Serb Janko Tipsarevic at the US Open probably went a bit too far.
Roddick’s desperate stab at gamesmanship failed to pay off however, as Tipsarevic managed to stay in his zone and remained unfazed by the histrionics. The American champ kicked up a fuss when foot-faulted at 5-2 down in the third set, and berated the lineswoman for telling him his right foot was at fault, when it was his left that had touched the line.
“Not once in my entire career has my right foot gone ahead of my left foot,” the 28-year-old American shouted at her. “Why don’t you get some umpires that know what they’re doing?” he directed at the chair. “What is this, call 1-800-RENT-A-REF?”
Roddick continued to ridicule the official even as he walked off at the end of the set to change his tennis shorts. The 2003 U.S. Open champion later said that he was just trying to shift the tide.
“I was down 5-2 in the third (set) already,” Roddick told reporters after his 3-6 7-5 6-3 7-6 defeat. “If anything, it kind of shifted the energy a little bit.”
Roddick saved three set points from 0-40, but the effect was short-lived. Tipsarevic closed out the set in his next service game then completed victory by winning a fourth-set tiebreaker 7-4.
“At that point any change in energy was a good change in energy for me,” said Roddick. “He was in a groove. He was seeing the ball big and he was taking risky cuts at the ball. They seemed to be dropping, the majority of them.
“In hindsight, did I let it go too far? Yeah, probably,” he said, adding that he felt it had ‘zero impact’ on the match.
Tipsarevic said he did not blame Roddick for being upset. “He was pissed off. I would be if a referee told me I made a foot-fault with my right leg. I mean, he never moves his right leg, so it was just a stupid call,” the Serb said. “But I feel he was trying to do something to change the match, to get the crowd involved or whatever.”
If that was Roddick’s motivation, it also backfired, with the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd boo-ing their native son. Roddick was more gracious when the players met at the net to shake hands at the end, Tipsarevic said, and the American had urged him to go deep in the tournament.
“He said, ‘well done, man, you played great’… He said, ‘if you lose early, I’m going to freakin’ kill you.’”
REUTERS
Stjarnan F.C. Finally Fail
Stjarnan F.C's latest goal celebration falls flat.
The pressure seems to be getting to the Stjarnan F.C. team. The Icelandic third division side that hit minor web fame for their elaborate – and hilarious – goal celebrations finally seem to be running out of ideas.
Stjarnan first hit the Sports Illustrated radar with their ’salmon’ celebration. They followed it up with a few more beauties which once again saw them go viral.
But the pressure seems to have finally caught up with them as their latest effort is a total flop. Despite being a direct copy of the popular NFL celebrations the usual crisp service and delivery are also missing.
Have Stjarnan lost their mojo or were they simply having a bad day? We’ll have to wait and see!
Last Chance Saloon For Roddick?
World Number 7 Andy Roddick feeds off the crowd
When Andy Roddick steps out at Wimbledon next week, the way he is received by the crowd could go a long way in boosting his hopes of another shot at the title.
Last year, of course, Wimbledon was the scene of one of his, and quite possibly the sport’s, greatest near-misses. “I’m always anxious going into Wimbledon. Last year is last year,” the American world number seven said.
The gritty American was public enemy number one at the All England Club last year when he dashed British hopes of a first men’s winner since 1936 by ousting Andy Murray in the semi-finals at the All England Club. But that quickly became a distant memory when Roddick got stuck into an epic five-set final against Roger Federer, before going down 16-14 in the fifth set.
While the Swiss basked in the glory of a record 15th grand slam title, Roddick slumped into his chair wondering if the defeat, his third in three finals against Federer, was his last chance of lifting the game’s greatest grass court title. The 27-year-old Roddick, whose realistic assessment of his own limitations endears him to the press and public alike, knows what he has achieved at Wimbledon will be meaningless come the tournament’s start on Monday.
“You know, I don’t go in with any sense of entitlement or anything like that. I’m excited to get onto a surface that I actually feel that I can impose my game on a little bit more.”
With his whiplash, wrist-snapping serve, much-improved physical fitness and shrewd shot placement on the skidding grass surface he is always a danger man at Wimbledon, and it is a surface where he feels a comfort advantage over his rivals.
“I think grass probably has the least amount of guys who are really well-versed in the little things about this surface, the intangibles of a surface,” said Roddick. “That’s probably chalked up to the fact that there’s not much play on it, so it’s only natural, I guess.”
His love of playing on grass dates back to his early years when as an eight-year-old he sneaked into a local club in Austin, Texas to watch the likes of Kevin Curren and Richey Reneberg play – until the local pro would “kick me off”.
“On grass, I don’t feel like there’s that many holes [in my game]. I feel like my game automatically kind of translates well to that surface.
“My chip stays down. My backhand goes through the court a little bit. Obviously my serve gets a little bit better. My returns don’t get any worse on grass, and some people’s do.
“It’s a more comfortable feeling. With that comes a sense of confidence, I guess.”
Reuters
Injured Bolt Pulls Out Of Gay Showdown
Usain Bolt, the triple Olympic champion and world record holder, has withdrawn from the New York Diamond League meeting on 12 June with a tendon injury, organisers said today.
“I developed a stiffness in my achilles tendon last week and sought medical attention,” Bolt said. “After careful consultation with Dr Hans Müller-Wohlfahrt at his clinic in Munich I have been advised to take a two-to-three-week break as a precautionary measure to avoid risking further damage.”
Bolt had been expected to face the American Tyson Gay in a 100 metres showdown between the world’s two fastest men.
The Jamaican, 23, holds the world record for the 100m, 200m and, with his team-mates, the 4×100m relay.
With thanks to the Guardian.co.uk
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