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Roddick makes big statement with Sony winKEY BISCAYNE, Fla., Apr 04, 2010 (Sun Sentinel - McClatchy-Tribune News Service via COMTEX) -- The knock on 27-year-old Andy Roddick has been that he's a has-been, no longer capable of capturing a major title. Although he's improved his top 10 game in nearly every way since teaming with coach Larry Stefanki 15 months ago,Roddick came up short in majors to top-ranked Roger Federer and less-heralded sorts such as Fernando Verdasco and Ivan Ljubicic in ATP finals this year. No more. After putting on a serving clinic all tournament, Roddick rolled to a 7-5, 6-4 victory on a sun-baked Easter Sunday to become the first American to win the Sony Ericsson Open title since he did so in 2004. Roddick capped a remarkable month in which he made a run to the final in Indian Wells and added his fifth Masters 1000 title, his first since Cincinnati in 2006. "Any athlete who says they don't have a 'what if' moment probably isn't being too honest with you," said Roddick, whose 29th career title earned him $605,000 and a move in the rankings from No. 8 to No. 7. "I've certainly had my share of them throughout the course of my career. I talked about it a lot after (losing) Wimbledon last year ... and wondered if the best of it was gone. "I didn't know. But I knew there was one way to find out and that was to kind of go back to the drawing board and give myself every opportunity to succeed. Luckily, that's given me some good days." As for Berdych, he's never been able live up to his potential or comparisons to fellow Czech Ivan Lendl, an eight-time Grand Slam champion who didn't win his first major until he was 24 _ the same age as his 6-foot-5 compatriot, who has been criticized for wilting under pressure. The match was dead even with neither player making a dent in the other's serve. Then two games after nervously lining up on the wrong side of the court to serve, at 5-5 Berdych began to crack with three groundstroke errors and a double fault _ due in part to his Lendl-like high toss _ to set up Roddick with the first break points of the match. That's all Roddick would need as he watched another Berdych forehand go long and raised a clenched fist, knowing he would serve out the set at love with two of his 13 aces. Berdych, who committed 31 errors to his opponent's 16, never sniffed a break point, at best getting to 0-30 twice on Roddick's serve in the first set before Roddick _ who has held serve an amazing 59 of 61 games this tournament _ would mix in 136-mph bombs up the tee with wicked slices or nasty kick serves to dig out of trouble. An immediate break in the second set signaled the end for Berdych, who sent Roddick's backhand slice approach into the bottom of the net on the third match point. "I didn't get any chance during the whole match," said the 16th-seeded Berdych, who will rise from No. 20 to around No. 15. "I didn't know what can you do better with him. If he's serving that good, then you're not going to get any break points, and maybe just wait for a tiebreaker." So Roddick added to his Key Biscayne memories, which include Orange Bowl days, Junior Davis Cup titles, his first tour victory as a Boca Raton Prep junior, followed by confidence-boosting wins over Pete Sampras, then Federer two years ago. "A lot of firsts, a lot of memories," Roddick recalled. "It's one of those places where I'm going down the hallway and I don't need to look for signs to see where I'm going." Back to the top and to more Grand Slam titles, according to Stefanki. "That's what this game is all about," Stefanki said. "This has been a phenomenal month and it's still not his goal. It's the tip of the iceberg." ___ (c) 2010, Sun Sentinel. Visit the Sun-Sentinel on the World Wide Web at http://www.SunSentinel.com Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. _____ PHOTOS (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): sony For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |