Men's Day 9: Roddick Loses Heartbreaker; Nadal Breaks Down
by Ben Rothenberg on Jan 26, 2010 7:38 AM EST
in Results
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Men's Bottom Half Quarterfinals:
Marin Cilic (CRO)[14] def. Andy Roddick (USA)[7] 7-6(4), 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3 -- This one was a total roller coaster. Marin Cilic saved a set point in the first set, and then took the second fairly easily as Roddick looked completely neutralized by a shoulder injury he received treatment for several times. But Roddick went up quickly in the third, and again in the fourth. His injury was making him play much smarter, more efficient tennis, forcing him to play the type of aggressive style he always should. Roddick then appeared on the verge of locking down the win, going up 0-40 on Cilic's serve in the very first game of the fifth . But Cilic saved all three break points, and never allowed Roddick another. Cilic broke Roddick at 1-2, and held on by his fingertips for his first grand slam quarterfinal victory.
Fairly quietly, Cilic is 10-0 on the year, winning five matches in Melbourne to add to his five wins in Chennai during his title run there. He hasn't always won with a lot of style points, but an inability to lose can get you a long way in this sport.
As far as Roddick goes, it's his third straight five-set loss in as many slams. That can't be easy. And if that shoulder really is in trouble (which it doesn't seem to be, at least in the short run), that could spell big trouble for a serve-based player like him. But he seemed to keep this loss in perspective in his presser, and should turn his focus now to the big spring hard court circuit that he's never dominated as much as he could. Things are headed in the right direction for Roddick right now due to his incredible level of recommitment, and hopefully he'll get a coveted piece of shiny metal to prove that in the near future to validate his efforts.
Andy Murray (GBR)[5] def. Rafael Nadal (ESP)[2] 6-3, 7-6(2), 3-0 (Ret. - Knee) -- As I suspected, this one wasn't really much of a contest. The match really wasn't as close as the score would indicate, and though it ended with an injury retirement, it was clear from fairly early on that Andy Murray was going to outclass the less aggressive Nadal.
Lengthened by a bizarre nine-minute fireworks delay in celebration of Australia Day, the second set was a somewhat more competitive affair, though it seemed obvious (to me at least) that Nadal could do little more than delay the inevitable.
Nadal took a mid-game injury timeout early in the third, and from there the writing was on the wall. I was surprised by his decision to stop the match early, but it was a totally respectable one as he clearly couldn't be competitive out there any longer.
But it wasn't that Nadal lost this match--Murray flat out beat him. Aggressive and smart throughout, Murray dictated play and played exceptional offense against a player who forces just that. The tennis he displayed in this match is exactly the kind of tennis that Andy Murray failed to play in his loss at the US Open to his next opponent, Marin Cilic. Murray was passive and adrift in that match, and will need to make sure the same thing doesn't happen to him again when they meet. It's one thing to be aggressive against a defensive player with few weapons to be burned by, but its another to commit to it against a player like Cilic who doesn't play a whole lot of defense speak of.
With the loss, Nadal is now 1-11 in his last twelve matches against top ten opponents. That kind of record isn't going to keep him in the top five very much longer, much less the top two. He simply doesn't have the flat, first-strike weapons that he needs to keep his legs healthy. Nadal wouldn't have won the match even if he hadn't aggravated his knee, but since he did this loss will almost certainly be pointed to for at least the next several months as proof that Nadal may never hoist another grand slam trophy again. It's a sad reality, but it's definitely better to have burned brightly than never to have burned at all. If the post mortem on his career reads "World #1, Six Grand Slam Titles, Olympic Gold," I hope that there aren't too many tears shed for him.
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Pretty gutsy performance by Roddick with the injury and all, and i must say I may have jinxed the poor guy!- I didn’t watch the first two sets, then when I began watching late in the the 3rd and then the 4th, but I fell asleep early in the 5th, so every set I was watching he won. haha! Hopefully the injury to the shoulder isn’t too serious, and apparently the trainers ha said playing won’t cause permanent damage, like you said, his renewed commitment is paying dividends for him now, and although a loss, this match could stand as a huge learning experience on much better he can play.
My DVR messed up so I only got to see the first set of Nadal/Murray, and I actually thought it was very competitive, though Murray was in control. In the beginning of the second set it seemed like Nadal was trying to be more aggressive and hitting some really amazing shots, and I was thinking that he might be back to his old form. But then my DVR froze and I don’t know what happened after the fireworks. What’s the deal with Nadal’s knee? Is this going to be a long-term thing? Is it more tendonitis?
If the post mortem on his career reads “World #1, Six Grand Slam Titles, Olympic Gold,” I hope that there aren’t too many tears shed for him.
I refuse to write off Nadal’s career until we see how he does on his top surfaces. On the clay is where this star was born, and on grass is where the potential legend emerged. He won one major and appeared in one final on hardcourts in his career, and that’s all we’ve seen from him since his return. It’s too early in his comeback to speculate on how good he can still be.
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