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No investment on return: Roddick, Blake share same weakness
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What’s wrong with American men’s tennis?
In the case of Andy Roddick and James Blake, the two standard-bearers since Andre Agassi’s retirement in 2006, the problem boils down to one stroke. Somehow, some way, they have to improve their service returns or they will fall short of their goals again in 2010.
If it sounds like an oversimplification, it’s not.
Roddick’s preparation for 2009 was nearly perfect. After shedding 15 pounds in the offseason under the direction of new coach Larry Stefanki, he moved better, showed more variety and exhibited more confidence in his backhand than he had in several years.
He reached his first grand slam semifinal in two years at the Australian Open before losing to Roger Federer.
He made his first slam final in nearly three years at Wimbledon and was a point away from a two-set lead on Federer.
Still, he lost it 16-14 in the fifth despite holding serve 37 consecutive from the start of the match. Federer had a career serving day, blasting 50 aces, but that phrase comes up often in Roddick’s matches. Remember his shocking first-round loss to journeyman Gilles Muller in the first round of the 2005 U.S. Open? Muller held serve all but one time in his straight-sets win.
At some point, it’s not just bad luck. It’s bad returning.
In his four slam losses this year, Roddick broke serve five times in 94 games. That's right, five times in 94 games.
Federer saved the only three break points he faced and won their Australian Open semifinal in straight sets.
Gael Monfils saved nine of 10 break points and had 17 aces in three sets of their fourth-round meeting at the French Open.
John Isner served 37 aces and saved seven of nine break points in his five-set, third-round upset at the U.S. Open.
Roddick ranks 54th this year in percentage of first-serve return points won, barely above the likes of Isner and Croatian tiebreak machine Ivo Karlovic, who struggles to bust anyone’s serve. Roddick is not much better in return games won (51st) and break-point conversions (45th).
Blake has a completely different game than Roddick, but the same basic problem.
The warning signs arrived in 2007, when Juan Carlos Ferrero, hardly a big bomber, won all 20 points on his serve in the second set as he rallied to upset Blake in the third round of Wimbledon. A month later, Sam Querrey served an ATP-record 10 consecutive aces against Blake in Indianapolis.
Blake’s abysmal performance in grand slams this year was a direct result of his woeful returning.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga lost serve once in three sets of their fourth-round match at the Australian Open and faced only four break points.
A then-unknown Leonardo Mayer never lost serve in the first round of Roland Garros. Almost unbelievably, he won 51 of 58 points on his first serve and 22 of 29 points on his second serve.
Andreas Seppi, a soft server, held every time in the first two sets while beating Blake in the first round of Wimbledon.
When Tommy Robredo cruised past Blake in the third round of the U.S. Open, The Tennis Channel commentators kept marveling at the Spaniard’s “career-serving day” (there’s that phrase again). Blake had only five break-point opportunities in the match, converting two.
That’s five breaks in 65 games of Blake’s grand slam losses.
Blake’s go-for-broke style and lack of a plan B have been criticized repeatedly as he dropped outside the top 20, but he played the same way when he rose to No. 4 in the world at the end of 2006.
Back then, Andy Murray said Blake’s second-serve return might be the best on the tour after getting blitzed by him in Hamburg, Germany.
These days, it is often the worst shot in the match.
In 2009, he is 44th in percentage of points won on first-serve returns, 47th on second-serve returns, 49th in return games won and 50th in break-point conversions.
By recently parting with Brian Barker, his only coach since his days as a junior, Blake proved he had not given up on his career. He will turn 30 at the end of December, but he has less wear and tear than most players his age because he started late.
If his mind is willing, his legs are still there.
His new coach, Kelly Jones, should get together with Stefanki and hash out the same plan for the offseason, as short as it may be.
Return, return, return.
Before Blake gets back to the second week of a slam and Roddick wins a second slam, they’ll have to get some freakin’ returns in play.
FOR MORE INFO: Check out Jon Wertheim's weekly mailbag at Si.Com and Tennis.com's daily columns and stories about pro tennis.
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