The family racket: Roddick crossroads--MySA.com
The family racket: Roddick crossroads--MySA.com ~~~
A San Antonio columnist takes a look at Andy Roddick's newest coach, brother John, and what the two of them hope to gain from their new partnership.
I spoke briefly to John in La Jolla at the Davis Cup, and he assured me that his academy will continue; he's hoping to hire his replacement by May or June. I told him how much I'd miss him on the junior tennis circuit; there was no question that he was a hands-on coach, willing to do the travel, the practice, the teaching and the parenting that elite junior tennis requires. And like every effective coach I've ever known, he was forthright-- unwilling to gloss over the truth when honesty was necessary to a player's improvement.
I hope that John and Andy can fix whatever is broken in Andy's game and psyche right now--at 23, there's no reason to think his best tennis is behind him. (By the way, Andy had turned 21 by the time he won the U.S. Open in 2003--this article says he was 20). But when Andy's career is over, I expect John will be back coaching juniors. He has too much to contribute to stay away from the sport he loves.
1 comments:
People seem to have trouble realizing that the problem with Andy Roddick's game is not complicated. It's very simple: his backhand is atrocious for someone at his level. I don't think there is any other player in the top 100 with a worse backhand. That alone would do more to help him than any complicated or intangible explanation.
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