A Roddick Revival

The Champion Comes Back
After so much pressure on him from the Great Roger Federer, Andy Roddick had the chance to breathe easier at the Masters Series in Key Biscayne. Having broken his erstwhile opponent no less than three times, Andy Roddick had the match in his hands when he won the initial set with seven games to five. The second game was not to be an improvement for Thomas Berdych who had valiantly overcome Roddick’s nemesis in the earlier rounds. Andy was in no mood to mess about and soon claimed his title, the first in this event since 2004 when he last held the champion’s prize.
Having just witnessed an injured Venus Williams getting beaten by Kim Clijsters, the American public seemed to want redemption from a home hero. The atmosphere in the center stadium was pulsating with electricity and both contestants seemed fired up for the task at hand. Fearsome hitting was the order of the day and each player seemed to find it easy to get to their highest quality. It was quite clear that Andy Roddick was the crowd favorite but his Czech opponent never really let up and did not seem bothered by the partisan crowd.
In the beginning the players were evenly matched and seemed to be able to protect their serves. This would have been coached fervently to Thomas because Andy is known to release some of the most explosive serves ever seen on the circuit. In order to beat Andy you must serve well and must look towards waiting for him to miss a few aces. Alternatively try to get him to volley and you might start seeing results. Federer is very good at this but unfortunately for Thomas, he just did not have enough on the day.
The break came in the eleventh game with a few errors, despite the battling display by the young Czech. This is when Andy showed what he can do on the serve when he won the first set with a love service game. In the second set Roddick continued to apply the pressure as his opponent folded. Although he managed to bring Andy to deuce, Thomas never did really threaten the Roddick serve.