Roddick and Ferrero: It's On
There are plenty of tennis fans who have watched two halves of the men’s singles draw shrink, pulling together a combustive, highly-anticipated face-off between the old guard of American tennis and the new. Top-seeded Andre Agassi, the oldest man in the draw at 33, versus No. 4 Andy Roddick, the youngest at 21; both Americans, both beloved – and practically on a collision course since the tournament started 13 days ago.
But Agassi won’t be there tomorrow. And for those who will consider changing channels because they don’t recognize the young player across the net from Roddick, too bad. More great tennis for the rest of us.
Juan Carlos Ferrero, who is named for the king of his native Spain and nicknamed "the mosquito," dethroned Agassi from the leading spot in the rankings today, becoming the No. 1 player in the world at age 23. He is the reigning champion of Roland Garros, winning his first Grand Slam title there this year. He’s every bit as dashing as the wholesome and popular Roddick, and he’s playing the best hard court tennis of his career. Which means, of course, that tomorrow’s match qualifies as must-see TV.
It will be the first time the two men have played each other, and Flushing Meadows is territory that each man has a special urgency to own. Roddick will be playing in his first Grand Slam final, carrying the weight of expectation that comes with a likeable player on a tear – he has the most consecutive wins on tour this year at 18 -- who also has the ability to generate a unanimous roar from 23,000 people sitting in his home country’s Arthur Ashe stadium.
Ferrero, on the other hand, is carrying a bit of a chip on his shoulder. He didn’t play on center court until the Agassi match (although his fourth round match against American Todd Martin was supposed to be on Ashe until the post-rain schedule forced them to move to Louis Armstrong). To that, he said, “(It) is strange that today is my first match on the center court. I think it's not really normal being…the No. 3 in the world that I was.” Plus, he’s continually touted as a clay court player who won’t pose a threat at the majors on asphalt.
Roddick should consider the threat posed. Ferrero’s phenomenal shot making left Agassi completely unnerved, and his warm-up match to meeting the No. 1 was Lleyton Hewitt, whom many picked to win it all. Ferrero also plays very similarly to David Nalbandian, who had two sets plus a match point on the American before Roddick’s comeback. Ferrero, like Nalbandian, has a precise, powerful backcourt game and good returns, which could give Acing Andy fits. The Spaniard also played four sets today instead of Roddick’s gut-wrenching five, and headed home to a big plate of pasta and a comfortable bed long before Roddick did.
Ferrero is only the second Spaniard to get to the finals of the US Open since 1975, when Manual Orantes defeated another feisty young American, a 23-year-old Jimmy Connors. But then, the Championship was on clay at Forest Hills. And the pro-US crowd wasn’t quite as gargantuan as it is today. They will definitely make their voices heard for Roddick, who loves to egg them on with his face-grabbing, wide-eyed expressions and a propensity to leap into the stands when he wins.
Seeing Roddick hoist the first-place trophy will be almost farcical, but sweet – the jocular good-times guy coming of age. For Ferrero, it will be a national triumph.
Ferrero’s advantages are, for one, Grand Slam final experience, and second, the confidence of having already snagged the top ranking. He got his wish of opponents, too. Ferrero hinted that he’d rather play Roddick since he’s 0-1 against Nalbandian, but conceded, “He’s in house. He’s playing his first final. He came to win two Masters Series, so he’s with a lot of confidence. We'll see.”
It’ll be a good show. And we’ll be tuning in.
There are plenty of tennis fans who have watched two halves of the men’s singles draw shrink, pulling together a combustive, highly-anticipated face-off between the old guard of American tennis and the new. Top-seeded Andre Agassi, the oldest man in the draw at 33, versus No. 4 Andy Roddick, the youngest at 21; both Americans, both beloved – and practically on a collision course since the tournament started 13 days ago.
But Agassi won’t be there tomorrow. And for those who will consider changing channels because they don’t recognize the young player across the net from Roddick, too bad. More great tennis for the rest of us.
Juan Carlos Ferrero, who is named for the king of his native Spain and nicknamed "the mosquito," dethroned Agassi from the leading spot in the rankings today, becoming the No. 1 player in the world at age 23. He is the reigning champion of Roland Garros, winning his first Grand Slam title there this year. He’s every bit as dashing as the wholesome and popular Roddick, and he’s playing the best hard court tennis of his career. Which means, of course, that tomorrow’s match qualifies as must-see TV.
It will be the first time the two men have played each other, and Flushing Meadows is territory that each man has a special urgency to own. Roddick will be playing in his first Grand Slam final, carrying the weight of expectation that comes with a likeable player on a tear – he has the most consecutive wins on tour this year at 18 -- who also has the ability to generate a unanimous roar from 23,000 people sitting in his home country’s Arthur Ashe stadium.
Ferrero, on the other hand, is carrying a bit of a chip on his shoulder. He didn’t play on center court until the Agassi match (although his fourth round match against American Todd Martin was supposed to be on Ashe until the post-rain schedule forced them to move to Louis Armstrong). To that, he said, “(It) is strange that today is my first match on the center court. I think it's not really normal being…the No. 3 in the world that I was.” Plus, he’s continually touted as a clay court player who won’t pose a threat at the majors on asphalt.
Roddick should consider the threat posed. Ferrero’s phenomenal shot making left Agassi completely unnerved, and his warm-up match to meeting the No. 1 was Lleyton Hewitt, whom many picked to win it all. Ferrero also plays very similarly to David Nalbandian, who had two sets plus a match point on the American before Roddick’s comeback. Ferrero, like Nalbandian, has a precise, powerful backcourt game and good returns, which could give Acing Andy fits. The Spaniard also played four sets today instead of Roddick’s gut-wrenching five, and headed home to a big plate of pasta and a comfortable bed long before Roddick did.
Ferrero is only the second Spaniard to get to the finals of the US Open since 1975, when Manual Orantes defeated another feisty young American, a 23-year-old Jimmy Connors. But then, the Championship was on clay at Forest Hills. And the pro-US crowd wasn’t quite as gargantuan as it is today. They will definitely make their voices heard for Roddick, who loves to egg them on with his face-grabbing, wide-eyed expressions and a propensity to leap into the stands when he wins.
Seeing Roddick hoist the first-place trophy will be almost farcical, but sweet – the jocular good-times guy coming of age. For Ferrero, it will be a national triumph.
Ferrero’s advantages are, for one, Grand Slam final experience, and second, the confidence of having already snagged the top ranking. He got his wish of opponents, too. Ferrero hinted that he’d rather play Roddick since he’s 0-1 against Nalbandian, but conceded, “He’s in house. He’s playing his first final. He came to win two Masters Series, so he’s with a lot of confidence. We'll see.”
It’ll be a good show. And we’ll be tuning in.
