Rafael Nadal vs Andy Roddick Indian Wells 2009 Highlights

Highlights of the semifinal match

[@markctaylormade]

So interesting re-watching these matches after listening to Andy's recent comments on how terrorized he was every time Rafa hit a forehand. "He'd swing that thing into my backhand - which is already a compromised shot for me - then the thing bounces on the service line and is over my head at the baseline. If I hear one more of those old commentators say '...oh just take it on the rise' I'm going to lose it!"

[@markmauk8231]

I always liked Roddick. Calm guy, no stupid grunting, always humble in victory and defeat. I like how he says "too good" to Nadal and also gives Layani a "good job" when they shake hands. Thats how it should be.

[@rounick28]

The game has taken a turn for the worse and Nadal is the no.1 responsible

[@markmauk8231]

@@rounick28 Enlighten us

[@kenkozawa9810]

I totally agree, Roddick was an underrated competitor, definitely deserves a lot of credit with how he handled himself on court. Yes some broken rackets and tirades but it was all part of his great personality.

[@farhatk6054]

@@markmauk8231 His grunts + his very questionable MTO + the way he makes opponents wait for him when they serve to break their momentum and other unsportsmanlike mind games

[@markmauk8231]

@@farhatk6054 You dont know what you are talking about

[@gregoryphillips3969]

Watching this reminds me of how average Roddick was as a volleyer and front court player overall. I have never seen someone lose so many points after hitting huge serves where the opponent is barely getting the ball back. Yes Roddick had one of the greatest serves of all time. That shot was his saving grace. Even Jack Kramer before he passed away told Roddick that he should have won more majors. Riddick had a great career no doubt but if he could have backed up that serve better who knows what could have happened.

[@Alagon909]

Roddick is overrated as fuck. He has really nothing to offer but the serve.

[@varunshahvo-tv9854]

Well said ..he never understood the transition game

[@gregoryphillips3969]

@@varunshahvo-tv9854 Thank you.

[@malcolmnorman5694]

@@varunshahvo-tv9854 exactly why the big 3 was eating him up except djokovic where he has a winning record

[@oldfrend]

frankly disgraceful how bad he was at the net and hitting approach shots. made me so angry watching him hit putaways right back at the opponent instead of literally 90% of anywhere else on the court that would've been a clean winner.

[@noddy1414]

Roddick and his kamikaze net approaches in this match

[@camica1708]

I have never seen anyone só clueless on the net than roddick

[@sailgoat4733]

7:59 horrible approach shot

[@bjr0467]

@@camica1708he lost a lot of matches behind that his net covering might be to worst

[@Kidgloves1984]

I'm a big fan of Arod, but he did make a lot of bad and risky net approaches..

[@antoinemantoux6049]

Nadal hits A LOT harder now compared to in 2009. His swing is much wider now and he steps more forward as he hits the ball. The difference is crazy

[@jacobschmidt2709]

Even so, 2009 Nadal would spank the 2022 version of Nadal.

[@antoinemantoux6049]

@@jacobschmidt2709 of course

[@Rafan0003]

Nadal's 2009 Physical body + Nadal's 2022 Tennis Mind combined should be an unbeatable beast..🤩

[@rapixtray8294]

Nadal is physically much weaker so he has to play shorter points

[@planestuff5027]

What a season(2009) it would have been if it hadn't been for the knee injury!

[@mightbefire]

I don't think Roddick's movement is bad at all, but compared to the insane level of movement and speed today, he looks a little clunky.

[@steviejohnson378]

What happened to Roddick’s forehand. It used to be an overpowering shot. His backhand is better than his forehand in this match.

[@shadowagent6051]

There was match in the US Open 2004 R2,Roddick beat Nadal in 3 sets,3 years later Nadal became a monster that Roddick was being eaten alive everytime he step on the court to play against,it's crazy to see the difference in how Nadal improved from 2004 to 2007 and so on,nothing comes close to that in the history of tennis.

[@anshuljain3760]

Two of my all time favorite players.. I can't decide who to support 😇😇

[@IggyFresh]

I think it's really easy actually. Roddick retired from professional tennis 10 years ago.

[@anshuljain3760]

@@IggyFresh lol..

[@YesSirPhil]

Roddick hit 4 winners in the first set. 2 of them were aces...

[@janjan55555]

You basically explained how terrible Roddick's game plan was... The way he kept targeting Nadal's forehand was puzzling to me! His shots lacked "intelligence" Get Nadal to slice on the backhand side! That's when you open the court!

[@nicolasrodriguez-cc3ez]

Vamos Rafa!👍🇪🇦💪

[@commonwealthedison5346]

Did the ball take a weird bounce on match point? 13:06? That was strange.

[@1aufoxx]

Mishit and maybe some wind

[@kofiofosu9051]

Rod dock was a great player. I remember seeing his serve and his game and wondered how could anyone beat this guy? Then came a guy named Roger and a guy named Rafa……

[@leechang6896]

Novak Djokovic Also

[@gregoryphillips3969]

I responded here once before but l wanted to point out something else about Roddick in this match. How many times did he hit a first serve that Nadal would literally pop up in the air. Roddick in most of these situations would not come forward and hit a first volley. Roddick would back up wait for the ball to bounce and then try an approach shot off of a ground stroke which would result in him getting passed. Or worse yet he would take away his advantage totally by reverting to neutral rally which against Nadal for Roddick was a losing proposition. What a waste, it's so infuriating to watch Roddick play. Another thing, Nadal's topspin has less of an affect on taller players (remember Ryan Soderling at the French Open). Roddick in their rallies had so many forehand opportunities that because of his height landed in just the right spot. Roddick instead of stepping up and ripping the ball was just pushing alot of forehands back at Nadal. Again Roddick had a good career but it could have been so much better.

[@user-dv4dh8mf9t]

Robin soderling*

[@gregoryphillips3969]

@@user-dv4dh8mf9t Sorry but you get my point.

[@vgr112261]

How was your ATP career?

[@gregoryphillips3969]

@@vgr112261 Fantastic.

[@gregoryphillips3969]

@@vgr112261 Hey Einstein whole industries are made up of observers measuring/commenting on people whose talents exist relative to each other's. Until the end of time people will always talk about how one professional athlete did against another. If an individual is knowledgeable enough to talk about the strengths and weaknesses of 2 equally matched professionals that's considered a talent. Many people who understand tennis wonder why Andy Roddick never took full advantage of his gifts as an athlete. That's not a bad thing for an observer to bring up. It shows a level of understanding which actually is helpful for those who share an interest in tennis. To miss that shows a lack of understanding about so many things. So the great athlete should never have a comment on a written or spoken word or a brilliant piece of music because he's not a composer? As for me l am a very good tennis player who at a point in time should have been on the ATP tour. And many would state that l am qualified to judge tennis talent. Look up the athletic achievements of those who are considered the greatest to coach or teach. You're not going to find many who were superstars in a physical way but they certainly were in every other way that matters

[@SAM098.]

Roddick alto nível o que faltava nele era Físico e um pouco mental no jogo, perdeu alguns pontos de bobeira por conta de posicionamento mas é comum acontece muito principalmente comigo 🤣

[@themsharapova10]

Verdade 😂😂

[@chadhamilton6255]

It’s like Andy didn’t wanna win. Very interesting decision making

[@Ramenwithegg]

It’s too bad his forehand lost its luster toward the end of his career. He had a cannon forehand back then

[@claudioburgosgonzalez2844]

Match between Nadal WB 2010 vs Roddick WB 2009 on grass... Who wins?

[@planestuff5027]

Hands down - Rafa,in not more than 4 sets.

[@shafqatishan437]

​@@planestuff5027 nah, 2009 roddick would've won on grass

[@planestuff5027]

@@shafqatishan437 I don't think so, Rafa was playing some consistently great tennis on grass between 2006-11, Federer wouldn't have won the 2009 Wimbledon if Rafa had participated in that tournament (though Roddick choked hard in the tiebreaker but that's the mental edge Fed had over Roddick which would misfire against Rafa)

[@glenroyreid2509]

Marat Safin warned Roddick to add more dimension to his game and the danger of trying to serve his opponents off the court....look what happened when players like Nadal; Federer neutralized his huge serve...need I say more!!!!!

[@jaredjohns9302]

He's more accomplished in tennis than Safin. You're comparing him to 2 of the greatest of all time! They can neutralize anyone's serve. He would have 5 slams if it weren't for Roger, so id say that's pretty damn good. PLUS he's married to one of the most beautiful women on the planet. lol

[@vuha5000]

@@jaredjohns9302 The last point you made in the sentence is the gist of all :D

[@glenroyreid2509]

@@jaredjohns9302 just asking....didn't Safin beat Federer to win the Australian Open and beauty is in the eyes of the beholder....because to me Nadal's wife is naturally a exceptional beautiful woman of the world!!!!!!

[@bdgregorybd]

@@jaredjohns9302 I would argue Safin was more accomplished than Roddick. Has one extra major, was the youngest ever world number one at age 20. And he has a technically more successful h2h against the big three than Roddick. I will agree with you on the comparison to Rafa/Roger. He was never ever going to come close to them.

[@Currymastuh]

@@bdgregorybd You really think so? Safin was number 1 at 20 years old and 10 months and Roddick was number 1 at 21 and 2 months - a difference of four months isn't that significant. They both were number 1 for not very long, though Roddick was number one for longer, and he was a year-end number one. Roddick has more than twice the titles Safin won. He's been in more GS finals (though has one less). Roddick was a consistent top ten player for nine years, whereas Safin had three top-ten seasons only.

[@homotechnium7628]

Nadal is still mad for getting his face obliterated with Roddick’s serve

[@POK2008]

The point at 1:42 is ridiculous!

[@janjan55555]

You mean Roddick, not being able to put down the ball low and giving Nadal ample time to create an opening! Yes, it's ridiculous... *RIDICULOUSLY BAD* !!!! EVERYONE knows that a net approach must be followed by a chip shot that forces your opponent in an awkward position (low balls to strain the back and diminish control on the return + force your opponent from way behind the baseline to either run as much as possible or come to the net while keeping the ball low) RODDICK failed miserably at everything what makes net play smart... (His net approaches have always been trash but this one was a good example of ZERO tactics)

[@POK2008]

@@janjan55555 that was hilarious! 😂😂

[@jayap3557]

the crowd was all for the US guy...and nothing for Rafa....

[@arjunraj6668]

its almost like indian wells is an american tournament

[@shafqatishan437]

​@@arjunraj6668 it is (unless u were sarcastic)

[@manumalia]

Understandable

[@joeypierantonis7576]

I thought this was Andy's better matches against the Big 3. To me, he seemed to be the worst, match-up wise, for Rafa. Consistently, the most trouble for Nadal. Even though, I assume he had a better record against Novak.

[@kakashihatake1029]

True but Roddick did well against Djokovic back then when Djokovic was a good but not great player. At that point in time people could have argued Roddick was a more accomplished player

[@joeypierantonis7576]

@@kakashihatake1029 Most def....

[@donvito7344]

@@kakashihatake1029 yea back when Roddick had the Balls to Talk shit about Nole when he wasnt as big as he is today

[@kakashihatake1029]

@@donvito7344 yeah now he talks about Nole like a God

[@johnnelson3665]

Nadal likes playing Roddick. He gives Nadal good rhythm from the baseline. The surface makes a big difference. Roddick would be in trouble on Clay. But his serve is very difficult on a fast surface.

[@noumander992003]

No net game lol

[@andyroo9381]

Never was a fan of Roddick.

[@jollyjames30]

Nadal has aged very badly over the years.

[@TeAmoEvitaMH]

He looks 40+. Really bad genes of self care, i dont know which one.

[@nathancampbell2078]

This is hilarious😂 literally only things that have physically changed is the amount of wrinkles he now has, which is expected with age, and he's losing hair, which is also expected with age🤣 get out of here

[@jollyjames30]

@@nathancampbell2078 Point is that he looks older than his age. He looks mid 40s today. Yet he was only 29 when his face began looking old.

[@arslaanpasha3334]

​@@jollyjames30Spain has 2nd highest balding rate in the world.