It's true, but this argument can apply to anyone. How many majors would Agassi have won if Sampras weren't around, or McEnroe with Borg? For that matter, how many of French Opens would Federer have if Nadal didn't exist? He'd be at, what, 16 or 17 majors at least by now, at age 27?

The truly great players find a way, no matter who else is in their era. Roddick is a good and respectable player but he isn't one of the all-time greats and, precisely because he's failed to adapt to the Federer era, that's the way it should be.

"Unfortunately, it might just be Roddick's lot in life to never win a second one."

I know it's probably true, but for some reason, this last line depressed me a bit. I like Roddick, I think he brings fun to the game. I hope he can at least make it to some more semis and perhaps a couple of finals.

Go Federer!!! Excellent play

Roddick's been losing to Fed in big matches (like GSs) for so long this shouldn't affect his confidence too much. He played well this tournament, even played well in the match he lost, and he should have a good summer if he can survive the clay court season with his health.

i think if roddick doesn't have to face federer in a grand slam..say someone else beat federer already ..his chances of winning another slam is quite high.

i think the problem with your point of someone beating federer, is the fact is no 1 outside of Nadal and Novak can(in a slam that is). I think Safin was the only other person to do so in recent memory and that has been years ago. he has always been in the semis. With that said tho, i would love to see a Fed vs Nadal final. Unbelievably they've never met in the US open or Aust open before. But if they do, my money is on Fed.

I think as long as Roddick continues to scream cuss words on court in front of thousands of women and kids, berate the umpires and act like a first class spoiled brat he will never be a champion, imagine if Nadal or Federer acted like that

I like Andy Roddick. He's coped with being in a nasty/embarrasing/miserable situation for years, and despite today's little flare ups, has conducted himself with consumate grace under extreme pressure.

He's a class act and someone the U.S tennis community can take great pride in.

I like Andy Roddick.

I hope Roger wins it.

am I the only one that still loves watching players drop the f-bomb on court and argues with umpires?? I have the utmost respect for the way nadal and fed handle themselves, but come on. of the three of them, i identify with roddick.

gpt--I totally agree.

I guess it is an American vs. European thing. Fed no doubt has a prettier game, but I love Roddick's passion. I'll root for his f-bomb dropping over Fed's clinical detachment any day.

steve:

To be fair, the line judges were pretty awful today, and Molina didn't help himself out with either of them by not calling any overrules (as I heard it). Roddick got upset quickly, but it was one of the poorer officiated and judged matches of the AO thus far. In this instance at least, I'm glad Hawkeye was there.

Denise:

I disagree that Federer is clinically detached. Did you see his celebrations in the US Open 2008 or even in this tourney so far. He's not going to lose his cool quickly while the match is being played but he's more into it than you think. He was quite the hothead in youth but has matured into understanding that being even-keeled is the way to win a match. He's no more detached now than the other all-time great currently playing, Nadal.

RAndy ought to be pleased with his SF run at AO. He just ran into a better player,who had to rally from 2 sets to win R 16 match, who see a chance to tie Pete Sampras' record.

agree with gpt and denise.

me too. i like roddick. his game doesn't stand up to federer's but his passion and antics on the court are entertaining to watch.

federer on the other hand, while brilliant, is actually very boring to watch. Denise put it perfectly, calling it clinical detachment. who wants to watch that over and over again?

that is why nadal is a much preferable player to watch. he's a great player but also fiery and passionate.

Denise I don't think its an American vs European thing. Classic example would be Safin. but i do identify with Roddick. He didnt play bad, he just got beat. Imagine serving at 78% 1st serves in at a speed of 230k/h in the 1st set and still getting broke twice. Damn that hurts. And the umpire didnt help much by getting into a verbal contest with him. Umpires should have just gone, point's over and thats my decision. And to be fair on Andy, he did apologise before the warning

And now the end is near for SAMPRAS record and I'm 100% FEDEX will break the all history record since tennis started.no big deal..

This is common in every sport. How many rings would Patrick Ewing have if he hadn't played in the Michael Jordan Era?? The 49ers and Steve Young if they hadn't played in the Emmitt Smith - Cowboys Era?? Peyton Manning - Colts if he hadn't played in the Tom Brady - Patriots Era??

There is always some better than you playing unless you're the best. Unfortunately for Andy, that distinction belongs Nedal and Federer right now. Andy's game is great and would defeat 95% of the Tennis world with decisiveness, but the room at the top is narrow at best in Tennis. Ya just gotta play the best that you can and know that you did all that you could. Andy and the entire world knows that now. Good going, Andy boy!

son:

Have you seen either Federer or Nadal in the six months? If anything, Nadal has been the more detached player. He's certainly not "fiery and passionate". Focused, yes. Intense, yes. But he's not screaming and fist-pumping, and uppercutting like he used to. Meanwhile, Federer's the one who's bellowing after won matches, yelling "Come on" after close points, etc.

Roger's game is more graceful and elegant than Rafa's which may lend to this idea of detachment. And Rafa succeeds on power, spin, and grit which makes him seem more fiery. But if you look at their actual attitudes on court, they're more similar than different.

I may be the oddball here, but I usually hate to watch Federer play - simply because I think he shows absolutely no passion and it all comes far too easy to him - half his matches it barely looks like he is even breaking a sweat. Even his celebrations when he wins feel staged and somewhat fake to me. I would MUCH rather watch Nadal or Roddick or Djokovic grind out a tough win full of drama and antics. Roger is also incredibly cocky and I find it ironic that when he says something completely full of himself, no one even notices, but if Serena Williams said the same thing, she would get bashed to pieces.

I agree with 433. Federer is not passionless.

Renee, how is what Roger does cocky? He's won 13 freaking grand slams. He was the #1 player in the world for over 3 years. He's not being full of himself, he's just speaking the truth. On the other hand, you have idiots like Djokovic saying "the king is dead" after winning one GS and subsequently falling on his face.

since when is nadal grinding out hard-fought matches? i don't think you folks watch tennis all that much. lately it's been federer that's grinding.

tennis is a naturally arrogant sport, like golf. you win or less on yourself and yourself alone. so a few comments in praise of oneself or in defense of oneself shouldn't be taken out of context. those of us that remember the age of borg and johnny mac and connors remember what it means to be "full of himself". compared to them, federer is the consummate professional.

Yea, I agree that chair umpire Molina was an ass.
He shouldn't have gave federer the point for a ball that was called out, but was in, saying that Roddick couldn't reach it when he was clearly there. That to me sounds like he kind of hated Roddick from the start. That call just didn't sit well with me. The point should've been replayed.
And coincidentally, all the linesmen and calls seemed to be going against Andy that night. Plus Andy dropping the F-bomb and apologizing and still getting a violation.
Chair umpire Molina can suck my nuts.

Hey Tom, glad you're having a good time under that sometimes closed roof! I think your assessment is fair -- as the above comments point out, this happens in every era of a great champion, but Roddick was very specifically placed so that his rise, accompanied by lots of publicity and speculation, was cut off by another very obvious and long-term rise, and it hasn't been helped by the H2H stats. With Andy's work ethic, I still think he's got more finals in him, and perhaps even a slam. I can't remember who, but I think someone at Tennis wrote that big servers can age well in the game, so he may have time on his side.

this article is true. roddick is a feeder but just cant beat Federer because Federer is a feeder too. Federer hits some amazing shots that Roddick cant do anything about.
the one thing roddick will always beat federer at is his dress. that young lacoste beats nike.

Wow, surely Andy Roddick deserves better fans that people who laud his superiority in f-bomb-dropping and those who say "Chair umpire Molina can suck my nuts"???