From an excellent source.  For obvious reasons I can not elaborate on this forum.

Painful? There's a part of Jimbo that loves the spotlight, that will have to always prove he's No. 1 till the day he dies. I'm sure having the chance to make some good bucks and to at least sit in the War Room again was a thrill. Connors doesn't get celebrated the way he used to. Borg is treated like royalty at the European Slams, McEnroe is the best 49-year-old player the world has probably ever seen and he's the Voice of Tennis, but Connors--hardly anyone remembers him. At least, coaching Roddick gave Jimbo a chance to come back to the Open, sell his cheesy video, and hear the fans say, "It's Jimbo" one more time.

WC, I like the fact you protect your sources.

I don't think we will hear Andy bragging about his US Open match with Thomas  Johansen from about two years ago. The only reason that Andy ever one the US Open in the first place was that he got an incredibly lucky field in 2003  with Federer getting upset and Juan Carlos Ferrero "The Mosquito" somehow getting into the finals. Roddick would have lost to Roger, to Hewitt, likely to Andre. Andy was extremly lucky that he managed to have his peak year just before Federer became completely dominant and when Rafa was in the juniors. I recall that the day after the US Open Final in 2003, the NY Times, which should have the top coverage of the US Open because it is a big New York event, went absolutely overboard in its Roddick suckup. The Times reporters covering the finals wrote that Roddick was the future of tennis, that his physical stature intimidated guys and nobody could handle his power. The Times reporters were too starry eyed to notice Andy's lack of speed, or his lack of a real game plan other than to blast the ball past lesser guys and his inability to improvise. Nor did the Times guys notice that Roddick had no net game to speak of. I still recall the Davis Cup match in Spain not long after that US Open final. Young Rafa Nadal used all his court savvy and wiles and spins to defeat Andy. As the late George Allen would say: "The future is now".     

Dobey; Roddick was not lucky or fortuntate in 2003 to win the US Open, he was dominant that summer on hard court, he won everything  including Cincy and Canada that summer and was actually the top or one of the top favorites to win it. Unfortunately Roddick has never been able to re-find that key, that level of tennis he played in the summer of 2003 which was unbeatable. Roddick was #1 that year end. Maybe the game just passed him by after 2003. We tend to forget how great Roddick was that summer given his struggles on hard court since then which overshadow it.

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I agree with most of what you are saying. Roddick can just be a total j_a_c_k_a_s_s sometimes on court, and even though these guys are right about tennis being incredibly frustrating at various times? It still smacks of flat out being UNPROFESSIONAL. You're a touring professional tennis player and a veteran on that tour-- to some extent you should act that way.

But I take his career in perspective a little differently. I think his backhand has improved greatly since his work with Jimmy, and I think he's a better player now than he was a few years ago. The problem for him is.... SO HAVE A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE. The game is evolving, and whereas he used to win so many matches because he could always hold serve? The players he plays against are returning his serve better than they used to in the past. Like Gilbert once said, Andy holds serve well, but he doesn't break serve that often. His net game was coming around for a while, but does not look as good as other developing players. The parts of his game that devasted opponents several years ago are simply not doing it now, and facing down the reality that he is turning into a veteran player is scaring him. And we can all agree that the media is putting a ton of pressure on him because he IS still the best American player. Whereas he was making the Wimbledon finals and playing Roger a few years ago? Now it's been a good while since he got that close to winning a major. 

But what I saw in that match just makes it harder to be a fan of Roddick, and I was never a huge fan to begin with... and I have seen him do things down thru the years that just strike me as unprofessional. Simple as that. Fans want to see balls flying thru the air, and tennis as a sport can go from exciting to pretty d* boring as soon as that ball stops for a good while--- like the several minutes fans have to watch a player getting nasty with the umpire! That's what I have noticed. It also makes people in a crowd UNCOMFORTABLE. When they see outright conflict, at some level it unnerves them a little. Now it might not unnerve New Yorkers, but I can assure it does in the hospitality South. I was uncomfortable watching John McEnroe berate the umpire when he was playing down here in Memphis. For fans down here-- that ain't part of a good show. We wanna see you make your racquet head do the talking, and not hear YOU do the talking. Tennis players can be abrasive, self centered trolls sometimes, and fans want to see players hitting the ball.

In defense of Roddick, I know a guy who strung racquets for him and this dude flat out told me that Roddick is a cool guy, and a fun guy, and a nice guy most of the time.   

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Don't be afraid of anything that science has not proven to exist. Myths and superstitions are not worth your time, or your contemplation; they are mayonaisse for the minds of fools.

What on earth happened to Roddick today?  I came home late and see Jun playing Kohlschreiber.  I assume Andy pulled out of the match just before it began or else this match wouldn't have been on this court.

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Vamos Rafa!!

RP - I don't have a problem with you posting my comments, I am actually honored.  I did not know you wrote for Tennis Week - well I guess I did since you posted Littleone's comments about her reflections on Wimbledon - (a GREAT post by the way), so I take that back.

I am just an avid tennis fan and ex-college player.  I am looking forward to going to the Open this year - already have 4 tics for the first Thursday night (there always seems to have a lot going on on the first Thursday at the open - great side courts, things heating up in the tourney some upsets) I'm looking forward to it.

 

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Cyboat

You really think Connors would fly down to Oz and coach for around $1500? Connors could very well have made that kind of money because he's JIMBO! He knows how much he's worth and it's a hell lot more than some usual rate.