Tennis Superstar Andy Roddick made the bihggest impact last Sunday. By his softest shots, he kept Tomas Berdych out of rhythm by hitting delicate backhands, loopy forehands and changeup first serves. Andy Roddick, with his second title at the Sony Ericsson Open.
There was no bafflement about the final result: Andy Roddick beat Tomas Berdych 7-5, 6-4 to win the Sony Ericsson Open. Tomas Berdych is a big-hitting Czech who had knocked off three top 10 players on his way to the final -- Fernando Verdasco, Robin Soderling and, most notably, top-ranked Roger Federer. But eighth-ranked Andy Roddick unleashed his powerful and varied arsenal of serves last Sunday, never facing break point. He has been broken only twice in his past 75 games. He also mixed up the pace of his groundstrokes, keeping Tomas Berdych guessing.
“I was looking for maybe one chance, but I didn't get any during the whole match, He was just too strong, and he deserved to win.” "He was just too strong today,'' Berdych said. "He's not just serving the big bombs. His variations of the serve are a really big improvement. ... I was really looking for maybe to get one chance, but he held pretty well. I didn't get any chance during whole match.'' Tomas Berdych said in an interview.
Andy Roddick had a slice backhand repeatedly forced the 6-foot-5 Tomas Berdych to hit the ball at ankle level, robbing his forehand of power. While searching to find a rhythm with his strokes, Tomas Berdych also lost track of the score in the 9th game, lining up to serve from the wrong side. The match turned two games later, when Andy Roddick reached the first break point of the match. He broke when Tomas Berdych hit a forehand out, then held at love to take the first set.
Andy Roddick coaxed one last errant groundstroke from Tomas Berdych on championship point, and responded to the crowd's cheers with a thumbs-up. It was Roddick's fifth title in a Masters 1000 tournament — one level below the Grand Slams — and his first since 2006. The runner-up two weeks ago at Indian Wells, another Masters 1000 event, Roddick has a record of 26-4 this year, best on the men's tour.
“The last month has been real good for me, I've played well on the big moments. I've been able to have a game plan and execute it, regardless of what kind of shots it takes. So it's all good. It's all encouraging. A lot of people say the serve is fine and the rest of it's pretty average,'' Roddick said. "That's all right. But there are a lot of guys with big serves who are pretty average, so there's got to be some difference.'' said tennis superstar Andy Roddick, who was seeded sixth.
Andy Roddick is coming off one of the best months of his career, reaching back-to-back finals in Indian Wells, Calif., and Key Biscayne, and beating Rafael Nadal in a come-from-behind thriller. He leaves South Florida not only richer but also more confident that another Slam is not out of the question.
“Obviously, it's a big title for me,I felt a little bit of pressure to win this one, because I had a pretty good opportunity in Indian Wells and didn't come through there. The last month has been real good for me. I've played well on big moments, haven't had an off day mentally. I've been able to have a game plan and execute it, regardless of what kind of shot it takes.” Andy Roddick said.
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