TENNIS:Call him the new Jimbo jet. Those who regularly despaired of Andy Roddick ever being able to change his game are now having to admit since Jimmy Connors became his coach last year, after Roddick had sunk to his lowest ebb, the former US Open champion is beginning to fly again.
There will be turbulence, that is for sure, but the belief is seeping back. When Roddick looked at the draw for the Australian Open, and figured he might meet Russia's Marat Safin, the 2005 champion here, as early as the third round, his heart sank. In the event it was a tumultuous encounter and the progress the American has made under the tutelage of Connors was there for all to see in the Rod Laver arena yesterday as Roddick won 7-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6.
He is now standing closer to the baseline to receive serve, thus giving himself more chance to attack, while his rushes to the net no longer end in hopeless entanglement. Roddick is starting to volley with something like assuredness, and his double-fisted backhand is transforming into a weapon of some deftness.
Okay, he will never be Roger Federer, but Roddick Mark Two may pose a real threat to the Swiss, and everybody else. Ugly Andy, like Betty, may yet capture hearts and, more importantly for him, more majors.
There were signs in the US Open final last year Roddick was changing for the better. Federer held firm then, but if they were to meet in the semi-final next week it might be altogether closer. And now Roddick has Connors at his side again, his illustrious coach being absent last week to attend the funeral of his mother. He watched Roddick through slightly jet-lagged eyes last night, and would have been immensely pleased at what he saw.
Safin, outside the top 20 after knee surgery in 2005, played wonderfully and served 22 aces, but Roddick was just a touch steadier, and had a little more variety. Safin being Safin, there was drama. He cut his little finger diving for a volley, and then chastised the tournament director and the umpire when the roof was closed after the third set, and he deemed the court wet, which it was not. He was warned for swearing, continued to chunter, and was cheered when he queried an over-rule on his serve and was proved right by Hawkeye.
Roddick, not immune to on-court outbursts, refused to become embroiled and went about his business in a way that spoke volumes for the influence of Connors. No other coach, not even Brad Gilbert, had been capable of changing his game to such a degree.
Much has been talked about Andy Murray, the Frenchmen Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet - Gasquet winning their third-round encounter yesterday - and, obviously, Rafael Nadal. Yet of this barnstorming new generation Novak Djokovic is the youngest, and the highest ranked, at 15. Should he beat Federer tomorrow, albeit virtually unthinkable in a grand slam these days, the 19-year-old Serb, one week younger than Murray, would find his face prominent on every TV station and sports page throughout the world.
"It's a huge challenge for me," said Djokovic, who has lost both his previous matches against the world number one but is on a run of eight successive victories, including winning the title in Adelaide and yesterday's 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 third-round win over the Thai Danai Udomchoke.
"But I won't be going on to the court waving a white flag."
Gauging the current form of Federer during the first week of a grand slam has become a pretty pointless exercise because, the French Open apart, he has gone on to win the title in five of the last six. In his third-round match he defeated Russia's Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-3, 7-6, and then turned his mind to Djokovic.
"It's a dangerous match for me, that's for sure. This is maybe his big moment where he can make a name for himself. But he already missed that opportunity twice. Usually when I beat a guy twice, I know how to play him. I hope I can take advantage of that."
He rarely fails.
Guardian Service
