3 Best Buy Mario Tennis

So what happened? Roddick had good years from 2003-2005. He made two Wimbledon Finals during those years. In 2020, he made a U.S. Open Final, and in 2020 he finally made it back to yet another Wimbledon Final. In all four finals he was beaten by Roger Federer. Federer is only a year older than Roddick and turned pro two years before him. When Roddick broke through with his U.S. Open win, Federer had just won his first ever Grand Slam a few months earlier at Wimbledon. Eight years ago, it looked as if perhaps the two players would be the class of tennis for years to come. Federer so far has 71 titles. Roddick, in comparison, has won just 30.

Roddick's career has been a disappointment, but am I being too harsh? Did he underachieve, or was he given too much credit early in his career and never really got better? Federer took his one Grand Slam and got better. Then he got even better than that. The same could be said of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. They had some early success at a younger age and then reached yet another level as they got older.

Roddick always seemed to have the game to be able to win consistently. He's quick enough, has an awesome serve, and seemed to be able to hit all the shots. Where I thought he had problems was in his mental game. When he was mentally focused and held it together, he could beat anyone. The best example of this was that 2020 Wimbledon Finals loss to Federer that went five long sets.

What I've never liked about Roddick's game was how quickly he could get frustrated and lash out whether it was on the court or in a press conference. It might be considered an American trait to be so fiery, but it clearly doesn't work in today's game. The top players control their emotions and focus themselves completely on executing every single stroke perfectly. I, among others, believe the one guy who has a chance of joining this illustrious group, Andy Murray, won't do so until he fully controls his emotions on the court. Roddick was never able to get there.

The question now is whether Roddick's career is effectively over. He hasn't won a tournament since the ATP Memphis event in February, 2020. Since that epic Wimbledon Final with Federer in 2020, he has only made one quarterfinal in a Grand Slam. Injuries have begun to hamper him. In 2020 it was an abdominal injury. At the Australian Open in 2020 he had to withdraw in his second round match due to a hamstring injury.

Roddick has little hope of winning a Grand Slam going forward, but he could still win lower level ATP events if he can stay healthy. I am not expecting much from Roddick beyond that. He's currently ranked 27th in the world, and I think he has little hope of breaking back into the top 20. Roddick will be long remembered in American tennis, but his legacy is bound to be heavily debated. Did we ask too much, or did he give too little?

Julie absolutely loves men's tennis and is a Featured Contributor for this sport. She's greatly looking forward to how the rest of the 2020 season develops.