Official Austrailian Open Semi-Finals thread

[BF4MVP]

Go Roddick.

[HarveyWallbangers]

American tennis is in a sorry start right now. Hopefully, Roddick can get past Federer. Highly unlikely. Federer is a machine, and I think he is the best of all-time.

[Freak Out]

I thought I heard that Serena made it into the semis? The Swiss machine will not fall.

[BF4MVP]

Yes, Serena did advance to the semis..

And I think Roddick has a slight chance against Federer..Not a good one, but a chance...

[BF4MVP]

Top-ranked Roger Federer hasn't lost a Grand Slam match away from clay in two years and hasn't lost a set during the 2007 Australian Open. So why is there a sense around Rod Laver Arena that he might be vulnerable to an upset?

Because Andy Roddick has seriously upped his level Down Under; that's why.


After Roddick's 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 demolition of Mardy Fish in the quarterfinals, Roddick's good friend said that it was no faint hope that his fellow American might be able to take down the great Swiss for the first time in more than three and half years in a regular tour event.

Roddick played Federer tough in the U.S. Open where he lost in four sets, he should have beaten him at the Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai, where held two match points, and in an exhibition just before the Australian Open in Kooyong, Roddick took him down.

Kooyong wasn't a regular tournament, so it's hard to put a tremendous amount of stock in the win, but the signs are pointing in all the right directions for Roddick. He's coming closer all the time and after scoring tremendous wins over high-level competitors Marat Safin and Mario Ancic and then easily reeling in Fish, he's looking more and more like the guy who grabbed the No. 1 ranking in 2003.

Fish believes that Roddick's not bluffing when he says that he's brimming with confidence.

"I think now more so than ever," Fish said. "Knowing that you can take sets off a guy, knowing that you can play with a guy. With his serve, if he serves well, in my opinion he's got a real good shot. Roger is Roger. I can go on and on talking about him, how good he is. Obviously it's a huge mountain to climb. To beat him in a Grand Slam, three out of five... Two out of three would be easier. A stage like this, I think Andy likes these courts a lot, they're playing pretty quick this year. I was able to serve and volley pretty much my way to the quarters. This surface is going to help his serve a lot against him. I think that's big. Maybe I'm making too much of the exhibition or maybe not. Maybe that was one of the steps mentally that he had to get over to take him out in one of these tournaments."

But Federer loves a good challenge and seems to play better when he is confronted. Before the fourth round, Serbia upstart Novak Djokovic called the Swiss out, saying that he was going to stun him. The result: a clinical, inspired, straight set win by the master.

Spaniard Tommy Robredo played about as well as he could in the quarterfinals, forgoing his steady game for a much more aggressive attack. He frequently stretched Federer out, but couldn't match the Swiss' all-around brilliance. Robredo also fell in straight sets.

Federer is the most complete player in the game and has more options than anyone else.

He has hard, high variety serve that he locates like a heat seeking missile, his forehand is numbing, and he can produce three different spins with his backhand, plus bash it flat. He is a fine volleyer when he comes in and a deep reader of his foes' serving tendencies.

Plus, Grand Slams contest three out of five set matches, where's it's hard to fool anyone over the long haul and even more difficult to sustain a hot streak. Like Roddick found out at the U.S. Open in his four set loss, there comes a time when your level drops a bit and if you are not careful, Federer kicks it into high gear and by the time you look up, you are holding up the runner's up trophy.

"Best of three is always a danger," Federer said. "You can be a set and a break down in no time. Against Andy especially that could be it. That's the interesting part, especially in Grand Slams, you play more with the mind and the legs, throughout the Slam. Especially over a best of five set match, if that's an advantage for me, I hope it is, but I doubt it."

If Federer plays at the top of his game and enters a match with the correct game plan, he's pretty much untouchable.

But on a slightly down day, say at 90 percent, he's vulnerable, because a guy like Roddick has enough weapons to hurt him. Roddick's blowtorch serve is burning holes in the court, his forehand is very heavy and he is much more comfortable around the net now. He's not a great volleyer, but a competent one and in their past three matches, he has refused to play extended points with Federer.

"He's really found his serve again, " Federer said. " His serve kind of got lost all of a sudden. He didn't get the same free points any more. He couldn't really put the pressure on the opponent because it was too easy to return his serve. I don't know if it's due to change of tactics or change of conditions. All of a sudden, got really slower. He's definitely picked that up again. Ever since, he's been a great player."


Expect A-Rod to attack

Roddick will play super aggressive tennis in the semifinals and let the chips fall where they may. It's up to Federer to push him to take too many risks, and more than match his high-octane offense. The American wants a piece of him, but he going to have to bring an executioner's ax to take out a big chunk of Federer's seemingly impenetrable armor.

"The gap has either been closing a little bit or just he hasn't been extending it, which he's probably done the last three years or so," Roddick said. "That's a good thing. With the match in Shanghai, I'm going to go in with a shot. I like going up and competing against him, I really do."

Even though he is 12-1 against Roddick, Federer still considers him a true rival. That's the highest compliment that a dominant player can give to another competitor. He doesn't expect just to blow Roddick out, which means that tennis fans could be in for a real treat on Thursday, rather than just watching Federer snack on another opponent.

"We've played on so many big occasions against each other, I mean, if I wouldn't have been there, maybe look at the success he would have had, in Wimbledon especially, maybe at the U.S. Open as well," Federer said. "We've had some really close matches. We're about the same age. He's been No. 1. I don't think the record really plays much a role. Now that we've played over 10 times, I think it gets very interesting. I think the record is good for me, but I think it's still a great match with Andy."

[Partial]

American tennis is in a sorry start right now. Hopefully, Roddick can get past Federer. Highly unlikely. Federer is a machine, and I think he is the best of all-time.

You said it. They need a superstar with all-around game to emerge. James Blake is good but he couldn't hold Federer's Jock.

[BF4MVP]

Roddick is much better than Blake in my opinion. Blake has yet to advance past the quarterfinals of a grand slam..Roddick has been to the finals of a grand slam 4 times (won the 2003 U.S. Open) and the semifinals 8 times...

[Bretsky]

Federrer is the only real player out there. He's so much better than the rest it's silly.

They should let the lower portion of his bracket play ahead of time and force him to play about eight straight matches just so we can see him lose two sets in one match.

He'd still win. I think he's the greatest I've ever seen.


B

[BF4MVP]

Staying up to watch that match was pretty much a waste of my time..Wow, Federer is good..And that was probably one of the best matches he's ever played..Just an absolute beatdown of the USA's best player... :(

There were some moments that I thought were kind of funny though..Roddick, after going down 5-0 in the second set, he hit a ball out of frustration and his raquet slipped out of his hand and hit a photographer...And later, apparently forgetting for a second that the crowd can hear everything the players yell, shouted "God damnit!...Sorry, Gosh dang!"

All in all, I woulda been better off going to bed..Federer is just too damn good..It doesn't seem fair haha..

[Freak Out]

That was ugly.

[BF4MVP]

Pretty much.

[BF4MVP]

Here's a transcript of Roddick's post-match press conference..He gives some pretty funny answers :lol: I bolded my favorites

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.


Q. Have you ever played anybody so hot like that before?

ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. He played well. You know, I made more errors than I should have in the first. After that, there's no doubt he was coming up with some shots tonight.


Q. What was it like for you just being there at the end of that?

ANDY RODDICK: It was frustrating. You know, it was miserable. It sucked. It was terrible. Besides that, it was fine.


Q. What did Jimmy say to you straight after the game?

ANDY RODDICK: He gave me a beer.


Q. You seem really disappointed. Did you think you had a real crack tonight, a chance?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I was playing well coming in. There's no reason to think ‑‑ if you would have told me this beforehand, I probably ‑‑ I didn't foresee it.


Q. Is that the best you've seen him play for a while?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah. I mean, he played really well tonight. I mean, that's for sure.


Q. Can you just take us from 4‑All on. Up to 4‑4, you're in the match. Then you got broken.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I got broken. Then I got broken three more times. Then I got broken two more times in the third set. Then it was over 26 minutes later. Is that what you saw, too?


Q. I saw that. On court, what changed from 4‑All till the end?

ANDY RODDICK: That first game, probably the second was pretty crucial. I said it before. I mean, when he gets a lead, you know, he's a great front‑runner, there's no doubt about it. He kind of ran it out at the Open, too.

Once he gets his lead, just gets that much more confidence, I mean, it's tough coming back. There aren't a lot of instances where people have forged a comeback on him.


Q. How do you go forward from here? How do you counter a game like that?

ANDY RODDICK: Well, you know, I just got to keep doing what I do. I wake up every morning. I put in as much as I can every day. I mean, I don't know if you'll find someone who questions that.

You do your best not to get discouraged. You try to take it like a man. I caught an absolute beating tonight. There's no doubt about it. There's no two ways about it. You deal with it and you go back to the drawing board. You act like a professional, and you try to keep working hard.


Q. How do you rate Haas or González' chances against him?

ANDY RODDICK: Slim.


Q. Is he getting better? Is he getting progressively better?

ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. I mean, better than what? You've been around the last three years, haven't you?


Q. Yes.

ANDY RODDICK: So it's been about the same.


Q. You said this week that you thought the gap between you and Roger was closing, or at least wasn't getting any wider.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, not tonight.


Q. The next time you feel that, will you keep it to yourself?

ANDY RODDICK: No. Have I ever not answered a question honestly? That's honestly the way I felt. I'm not going to keep it to myself. You ask me a question, I'm going to give you an honest answer.

What do you want me to say? Do you want me to come in here and kick my ass on a daily basis? It's not going to happen. I'm going to try to keep fighting. I'm going to try to keep working. That's what I could on a daily basis. I wake up and work my butt off on a daily basis. I'm going to continue to do that.

I'm going to try to take this like a man as much as I can. He outplayed me. He played a lot better than I did tonight. He deserves all the praise that he gets, not only for how he plays, but how he handles himself. Get up tomorrow, look forward.


Q. Beating Safin and Ancic, was this a good tournament?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I thought it was a good tournament. But I've proven to myself that I can get to the semifinals of Grand Slams. I'd love more than anything to get past that, to get over that hurdle for sure.


Q. Obviously he played great. Did you feel like you needed to play much better?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I think I left a lot out there on the table tonight. I don't feel like I played like I have for the rest of the tournament. You know, I've come in here at times and said I played pretty well. You know, he just beat me. I think it was a combination tonight.


Q. Did you think about trying to slow things down there in the second set when he started to get a run?

ANDY RODDICK: Yes.


Q. How much would you have paid in order not to come too this press conference tonight?

ANDY RODDICK: That's about the best question that's been asked.

Well, I mean, I can't really say an amount because I would have gotten fined, what, 20 grand. Obviously, it would have to be less than that, right, if we're thinking logically? It really wouldn't be about the money; it would be about running away and not facing it.

I would pay a lot of money if everyone would just make up stuff that I said and pretend like I was actually here. That would be fine. My dad didn't raise me to run away from it, so here I am.


Q. What next? Davis Cup preparation?

ANDY RODDICK: Yes.


Q. What does that involve? A bit of experience on clay?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, yeah. I'm not sure the exact schedule, but I'll probably maybe try to get down to Florida sometime next week and start preparing. I think the team, we all leave on Saturday of next week.


Q. What did Jimmy say? US Open final experience, you played him tough, got on a roll. Did you talk about that before the match, if Roger gets on a roll, try to do X, Y or Z, slow it down?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, there's a lot of strategy talk. It's not so much like, If you're down 6‑4, 6‑0, 2‑0. We didn't really talk about that. Oops.


Q. Will you try to maybe totally forget about this result and just put it aside?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, it would probably be a lot easier when I'm on that plane flight tomorrow not reading about it.

Yeah, I don't know. I don't know how much you forget it or how much you remember it. I don't know what's better in this situation, to be honest. But it's there. It happened. You deal with it. You try your best to move forward.

I mean, you can't ‑‑ I'm not going to sit here and try to be in denial about it. You know, so I'm just still trying to figure out the best way to move forward.


Q. Do you then study it and learn from it, force yourself to work out what to do next?

ANDY RODDICK: Well, one would think so, yeah. Yeah, you'd think so (smiling).


Q. Some people don't read the papers when they lose the next day. Will you read it, or you prefer not?

ANDY RODDICK: Probably not. Probably not. But it's kind of tough, though. I read the sports section every day of my life. I'm going to kind of have to like maneuver my way around it somehow (smiling). Like get an oversized coffee mug, kind of like smoke and mirrors or something.


Q. How would you write it if you had to write it?

ANDY RODDICK: What?


Q. That match.

ANDY RODDICK: How would I rate it?


Q. Write it.

ANDY RODDICK: That was a 10. What a great question.


Q. How would you write it? I was talking fast.

ANDY RODDICK: I was thinking slow.

How would I write it? How could you write a match? How would I write an article?


Q. Yes.

ANDY RODDICK: Probably something similar to what you guys are going to do, I'm sure.


Q. Sort of two steps forward, one step back, but you're moving in the right direction?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, that's probably a good way to write it or rate it (laughter). That's probably what I would write.


Q. Your performance here is better than on court.

ANDY RODDICK: My performance here is better than on court?


Q. Right.

ANDY RODDICK: No shit (laughter). If there were rankings for press conferences, I wouldn't have to worry about dropping out of the top five, I hope.


Q. How do you see the Haas/González game going? What do you make of Fernando's performance at this tournament?

ANDY RODDICK: He's played great. There's no doubt about it. He's played consistently great, which is something maybe that hasn't been easy for him in the past. He's been real impressive. No, he's playing great, so we'll see.


Q. Do you rate him perhaps as a chance against Roger under the circumstances?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah. I mean, I think Roger's the overwhelming favorite, though.


Q. After a night like this, do you sleep well?

ANDY RODDICK: Do I sleep well?


Q. Yes.

ANDY RODDICK: It depends on how much I drink tonight.


Q. Where are you going after this?

ANDY RODDICK: No idea actually.

Thanks.