The proof of Federer's genius - Federer Vs Andy Roddick

[@kw19193]

I have never understood why that little half-stab half-volley Fed makes at 2:50 on the ball he overran on the baseline isn't considered one of his all time best. Everyone raves about the tweeners, they're on virtually every single "Best of . . . ", "Greatest All Time . . . " but this shot rarely gets the awe and admiration it deserves. Too bad, it's one of his real hummers . . . Cheers!

[@danielmorris8517]

How does Andy suck? He's won the US Open, is a former world number one and has been in four grand slam finals. He's also done great in juniors winning both the Australian Open and the US Open in 2000. Finally he was in the top 10 for over 12 years. Now if that doesn't make a great tennis player then I don't don't know what does.

[@nunchuck_norris]

That's true. Those guys probably don't know at all what it takes to be so good to become no. 1 and win a slam and reach another 4 finals and 5 semis. They just compare his career to roger's or rafa's and then they say he sucks (compared to them). And those guys most likely wouldn't have done better than Andy if they had started a career.

[@theaviator1152]

The second set of this match is one of the best ever performed by any player.

[@LinusFeynstein]

I want this Federer back. It is like watching a ballet dancer participating in western shoot out. Can he recover with 40 years of age and 23 years of pro tennis in his bones?

[@letmetellyousomething123]

I do feel it's game over for Roger now. Amazing career but it has to end sometime and this looks like the recent setback will prove it. Does he want to play like Murray is doing right now in the belief he may return to greatness,but not getting the results , not so sure.

[@LinusFeynstein]

@@letmetellyousomething123 he will try to recover after the third operation and train hard for a comeback. But he is too aware of his possibilities and thus his comeback will be limited for one last season, maybe with the tournament Basel as a farewell. It is very unlikely that he will defeat Djokovic and the young guns in a best of three. I just hope the best for his health.

[@MrDgenerate212]

Federer is truly a tennis god there will never be another

[@TATO10892]

Wait, do we need proof?

[@QiuyuanChenRyan916]

To me both are good player. And surely Roger has his respect on Andy, since player can't be good if no competitor show up in the game.

[@2CSST2]

well if you were an alien loving tennis and coming to earth never heard of federer you would!

[@LJShaun]

+TATO10892 Doesn't everything you believe in require one form of proof or another? This video is just one of these proofs.

[@niclassj]

This must have been one of the best performances EVER in tennis.

[@rickpinardi7897]

As you watch federer play their is no one player that has the range of shots ,twists, or imagination as he does that in my book makes him a one off player that the world will never see the likes of again, brilliant to watch an all time sportsman in our times.THE BEST!!!!

[@avantgardenovelist]

Very well-edited selection. Thanks.

[@roraffe]

very good quality, you can actually see the ball! usually tennis videos you have to watch in slow motion, good job. us open final was the first time since the 2007 australian open federer has hit close to top form, hope he can keep it up.

[@singers856]

damn i love andy, i miss him like anything now to see him in action. he may not have won the titles, but he did everything to reach finals always. Andy roddick was really good.

[@veggiesoup]

What an amazing distillation of a match into 10 minutes. Thank you

[@Fahzza4849]

Roger plays with his brain and strategy, it's not all about power. That's why he's such a genius and above many top players :D Love him forever, long live our tennis King! :D

[@rogerfederer2424]

The second set is one of the most dominating sets in a grand slam semifinal I have ever seen.

[@catchroniclesbyanik]

Federer doesn't need any proof. Everyone knows it.

[@FaceJakarta]

Andy's footwork was his biggest hurdle, Roger's is just like silk and so smooth.

[@ejanfada]

Andy was always a step behind. Played too stressed, with too much agression. Roger was always a step ahead. Played very relaxed, with moderation. And Roger was on Fire!

[@Kobe29261]

Mr. Donnie, you totally get it! A lot of people miss the point of emphasis, we don't speak of just 'any' Federer but THIS Federer! Love you man.... THIS Federer is truly invincible, not only was he playing his best tennis but even what much inherent lapses he had turned into gold! So now you are not only fighting a seasoned soldier but the very gods are on his side!

[@PatricioJeri]

This is the beautiful result of playing a match in the threshold of an era change. From a net approach based tennis to a base line tennis.

[@JahanVijeh]

You almost feel bad for Roddick, cause there was just nothing he could do lol

[@jaansa86]

***** Exactly, check Nalbandian or nadal style of shoots against federer close to the bottom line so Federer lose offencive in his forehand and of cource you must play all the time on his backhand and make it take the running forehand witch he was a lot more erratic.

[@crimelover]

Probably the best match in Roger's carrear...Absolutely incredible! My 2 prefered tennists here...just fabulous

[@Sealdrop]

this video was uploaded in 2007

[@dmbull22]

Now that his dominance is probably coming to an end, people should just love to see these highlights. He may not beat Sampras by much in terms of slam titles when he's done, but he dominated the tennis landscape, albeit a watered down landscape, more than any tennis player ever. He won 12 out of 18 slams. That is sick.

[@jakecunningham4743]

there was so little reaction time with that shot too, just flawless

[@dkangan]

I finally understand what is meant by the phrase "neutralize the serve" after watching some of these returns. Not the return winners, but the ones he got back deep and gave himself time to get back to the cover court on.

[@yovni]

What an utter miracelto watch. Utter bliss. Nobody comes close to the magically power, poise and finesse. Thank God for Roger. 2.08 just takes the biscuit.

[@smegweevil]

Roddick must have been wondering..."What do I have to do to win this?" Great tennis by both players, gotta give Roddick praise for the effort, but Federer was just too great.

[@PeterFrahm]

Look how Roddick shakes hands with the umpire at the very end. I liked that. Shows respect. Hardly any player even looks at the man when shaking his hand after the match. Oh and great tennis by the way :-)

[@dugfriendly]

When Roger was at the top of his game, he was truly something to see.

[@dmbull22]

THat's true. My main point was that his peak was from 04-07, and I was using the fact that his finals have been more tightly contested in the past year as evidence for concluding that his reign is slowly coming to an end.

[@SomeHoboProductions]

The reason why Roger is so effective against Roddick is not just because he can return Andy's serve, but because he slices it deep. Anyone on the tour can take a quick defensive slice return to a powerful serve that lands on the service line and is counteracted with what is often a powerful approach shot winner, but Roger eliminates the power while still making the opponent try and hit a winner from behind the baseline. If he couldn't do that, Roddick would have about 4 or 5 slams under his belt

[@eric43370]

A public castration. Poor old Andy.

[@weej267]

I wouldn't say he's beaten Federer "to a pulp" to this extent... but he did dominate Federer in the 2008 French Open final (6-1, 6-3, 6-0). I think that is the most dominantly a player has ever beaten Federer, at least that I know of.

[@Staunomat]

He got there in the first set of today's final! Amazing stuff

[@rodriguin75]

this has been Rogers GREATEST GRAND SLAM EVER! he won it without loosing a single set, i remember the finals against Gonzales

[@kshikori1377]

Federer has the best form ever, the way he hits his back hand is so smooth and stable.

[@yanonorf]

When Rafa or Nole give a lesson at another player : it's a slow agony; When Federer gives a lesson : THAT'S A SYMPHONY !!

[@blinkMATIC]

im not a djokovic fan but remember how young he is!!! by the way all the matches between roger n andy are full of energy n when they play against the other is the best!

[@shyan042688]

Haha... Roddick was trying everything, but nothing seemed to work... You kind of feel sorry for him, but at the same time you can't ignore the sheer elegance and perfection of each and every one of Federer's shots and returns. This guy is just AMAZING... I just wish he had a few more years left in his career. He's getting old, and his game is deteriorating fast. It would've been nice to see him square it off with Nadal (and maybe get a little bit ahead in their head-to-head record).

[@ychanj]

Nice.. I like how the ball makes the path mark in this video. that's cool.

[@TRASHoftheTITANS]

It's not so much the frame i'm talking about, it's the fact that it's so small and narrow. Plus he uses natural gut strings, which pretty much no other pro player does.

[@Zaenth]

When he played in the Master´s Cup against Ferrer, that was a brilliant match too.

[@Onmysheet]

I just love the way Federer returns Roddick's cannon-ball servers by just taking one step and reaching out his arm. lol

[@jayharvey3907]

Amazing domination of Roddick!

[@krogdog]

Does anybody have the press conference Andy gave afterwards? That might be the funniest one I've ever seen!

[@MrAsetgraffiti]

I would like to see a match of this version of Federer against 2010 version of Nadal at this court.

[@FionaCullen7]

Roger Federer is so incredible here, it is not human! Andy Roddick was no where near playing badly at all in this match but Roger just dominated, he is brilliant.

[@Ruteru01]

Well each player has their time of glory..but surely we agree that Rafa hasn't beaten Federer completely to a pulp like this, no? and that Rafa and Federer's rivalry is one of the best in history not to forget that their friendship is miraculously one of the best as well! kudos to both of them!

[@MrPound4Pound1]

Well if you're talking overall standings then yes I guess you have a point. Very true about Sampras in comparison with future players as well. I just feel that Sampras was instrumental in the way the game has evolved today in terms of service, vollying and overall cardio vascular. A true athlete and professional who was great to watch, despite the opinions of those who thought he was boring, as well as having his accolades. But none the less opinions are always divided no matter what the sport.

[@krogdog]

I've been watching tennis religiously for the past 15 years and this is probably the SINGLE BEST MATCH I've ever seen anybody play...ever!

[@TwentyTwenty90]

You'd like to think this is a fairly biased account of the match, with an uneven amount of Federer winners being displayed. But this match like many others of this era, were complete and utter Federer domination. Tennis, but on another planet.

[@sexypromiscuousgal]

He played really well in the U.S open

[@StokaXXL]

When was the first time Federer beated Roddick and what was the score?

[@invaderdaniela]

And the best was that everybody was talking about Roddick chances and his match against Roger in Kooyong, the press was talking about that Roddick could beat Roger, blah, blah, blah... but then... Roger shut their mouths. We're lucky to be in this era when Roger Federer is making history.

[@harisajanovic2119]

Technique > Strength

[@tyruk]

If I was Roger Federer, I would grab my tape of this match, place it in my chosen format playback, whether it be DVD or VCR, then watch this show of PURE tennis DOMINANCE, which was probably the last time that he was his true-self; then I'd take it all on board, because that second set was perfect.

[@MrPound4Pound1]

Roger is undoubtedly the GREATEST that ever lived in my eyes!! Sampras comes a close second, but the technique and shot making of Federer at times is just out of this world and still at 30 he was able to pull the rabbit out of the hat in the Wimbledon final for his 7th title against a young, hungry and improving Murray. Watching this video, despite appreciating Roger's genius, I actually feel so sorry for poor Roddick. He must of been thinking what have a gotta do to win a damn game!!!

[@michaelsailors]

Federer's backhand is seriously equivalent to his forehand.. you just don't see that often, espcially when both are phenomenal.

[@ryanstephen120]

"Unlikely, the thing about Roddick is that all he could really do was overpower opponents, and there wasn't really any true competition..." Sounds like Sampras. But I agree with you that Roddick only started to win at the time that Federer was already reaching his peak. He won his first Slam and finished no. 1 at a younger age than Sampras in 2003, but Federer had already beat him and won Wimbledon that year. Thereafter it was over for Andy, every final he reached Fed/Nadal got in the way.

[@clewalent]

I remember this match, I've watched it.Roddick was overly aggressive and tried to go to the net for almost every point,and Federer with his awesome passing shot, just do that over and over again as Andy runs to the net. I think that's how he got beaten really bad that day.

[@AlphaDraconis7]

they are playing again.. 2009 Australian Open SF

[@QiuyuanChenRyan916]

I personally respect both players. The simplest answer is I am not that good. And the other reason is they both put a good show, even if Roddick finally lost to Roger, the game is still nice to see.

[@sasook]

Loooooved the footwork of Federer on the 6:55 point.

[@ArjanK1206]

No one has played with better timing than Federer did in this match in the last 15 years

[@john0022]

the reason why federer is the best is because of his vision and his ability to read the game better than anybody else

[@NYLifeInNJ]

@thisislaser Control is up to the players, not the racquet. You can't just say that 100+ sq in racquets have no control especially if so many champions utilized them. Surely there's more power potential, but look at how well Agassi controlled his shots.

[@Swav.Zielin]

Roddick inspired me to get a racquet and start playing tennis, but there is no doubt he was owned by Federer throughout his career and this highlights it.

[@KimAaron26]

I think your underestimating how hard this guy hits his serves... Push back his serve and wait for him to make a mistake? Its actually more like push back his serves and get whiplash as you watch the ball go by. You shouldn't underestimate the pace of these guys serves and the bounce they get from their groundies.

[@mluvw47]

Well, they both played different style, Roderick is highly rely on his powerful serve, and try to end the point as fast as possible. Federer positioned himself on well balance before fire every shot, you can tell he really enjoy the game, and know exactly where he is going to hit, and just hit a little bit hard to end the right place. I am sure Roderick well understood why he lost this match if he watches this video game. Power vs placement.

[@Onmysheet]

His forehand was lethal in 2004 then afterwards he changed everything by ditching the power tactic in favour for a all-round aggressive approach game, which he never adapted to. What he did there was quite unforgivable for Roddick fans.

[@GiorgioMassignani]

I think you can clearly see that during the second half of the video Andy was approaching to the net in a pointless way (dropshots, or with half of the court totally open). he was just frustrated and did want to end it asap... but still, can you blame him? i'd gone nuts after the second one

[@KingKurt]

Roger was amazing around this time.. it's a shame to see him so inconsistent nowadays, age has caught him up, and so have the others.

[@GreenSaida]

Want to know what the most telling stat of this match is? Federer was 7/7 on break points. Boy, what a match for him. Converting every break point. Andy usually saves break points yet Federer converted them all.

[@brennandugan91]

Roddick was the semi-finalist. He got there because he had knocked out a lot of other GREAT players. Saying he sucks because Federer beat him down here is ridiculous. He was standing across from the greatest player of all time in his PRIME that day. The only time Federer was ever better than 07' in general was in 06' when he was on a level that will likely not be replicated for another decade or two. G.O.A.T.

[@khanwarrior99]

2:50 was one of the best tennis shots I ever seen

[@alwallace1984]

Andy lost two Wimbledon finals by a narrow margin, the last one the most obvious for sure. But remember 2004 : even Roger told the press it was a really close call. You cannot say that a guy sucks when he's won one Major and went to lose four Grand Slam finals against one of the greatest sportsman of all times. Roddick deserves a hell lot of respect, not only for his physical abilities but also for the way he handled himself outside the court.

[@maxiskhan]

I love watching this match over and over again ! The comment "that's just as if Roddick's shots were in slow motion " made me laugh many times":d!

[@lingua6]

This is match is really Federer's peak. He never played better than this match

[@invaderdaniela]

AHHHHH This match was pure genius, pure magic, was perfection on a tennis court. Roger just kicked Roddick ass. I remember it well. Roger wasn't dominating so well at the first set but then he just was like a machine. The second set... WOW! I don't think Roddick played so bad... the fact is that Roger was absolutely amazing.

[@andrewadams8490]

Maybe I can give an opinion for the 8:45 approach shot you were talking about. While, yes, he could have picked a better time to approach the net he was so out-matched from the baseline and he knew it. As you saw, 0-2 sets, 1-4 games. He was getting desperate. He had to try something different, and in a desperate attempt to find something that works he came to net. As far as rivaling Sampras. Not a chance. Great player Andy, however Sampras was iconic for his style and precision. NTM 14 Slams.

[@MrPound4Pound1]

Well, unless I'm mistaken, didn't Sampras beat Laver's all time grand slam record? Laver was a man Sampras was inspired by but then Sampras became the standard bearer to the modern game as well as setting a new record for grass court tennis, which Federer has now equaled. Not to mention Sampras was part of a much tougher era with the likes of Agassi, Ivanisevic, Becker, Courier etc. I also go by what I see on a court; serve, volley, strokes, athleticism etc... but each to their own I guess!!

[@branzhu1]

Cheers funkrafty. One of a few who understand physics lol

[@dayostical]

does anyone know what roddick said at 9:03? It sounded like "damn....something".

[@Renavatio2586]

Yes exactly. I understand WHY he would consider changing it, but you really have to wonder whether or not that decision was really smart by Andy and his camp. The game evolved into a power and stamina game and given Andy was creeping up in age, why would you want to PROLONG rallies instead of using a weapon and finishing them. I mean if he had or could generate the sort of topspin that Rafa can that's one thing, but that whippy FH he was using didn't do anything but present a target.

[@QiuyuanChenRyan916]

Response after 9 months. This was one of the first videos brought me to know KZbin.

[@MainOh]

he has won against him ! i love both players ! i hope andy will be better this year with his new training 1: 13 for federer! peace

[@KreisbahnNetwork]

Roddick was very unlucky not to win Wimbledon in 2009. That was an amazing final.

[@Onmysheet]

The one key tactic Federer has done to his opponents over the years (especially Roddick) is he wears them down, not physically. Mentally. Like this match for example, he made Roddick lose his gameplan and got so tired he's too tired to think, by eventually coming to the net. You have to outthink Federer, which Nadal has done successfully.

[@davd1986]

I think we can safely say that the first point of the match set the tone.

[@mikeg6894]

for the rest of us americans, that first serve clocked at 136. absolutely unreal return for that speed.

[@Onmysheet]

He returned a faster one against Roddick in the 2007 US Open.

[@BatteredSav100]

Roddick still won the last ever meeting between these two. A feel good moment for Roddick at the end of his career. Gunna miss his press interviews.

[@arcaneous1]

Roddick's definitely come a long way since 2007, but he still has a long way to go unfortunately to catch up to Federer. If you watch Roddick's matches in the 2009 Australian Open, he is definitely much faster and more determined to win this year. Too bad for him Federer is still a genius when he has a racquet in his hand. And this is where I cue the music of "It sucks to be me".

[@JBades6310]

I love the outburst at 8:59, did he say "god damn it.. sorry gosh darn it"?

[@aleztfu]

@1337SFpro But you know that's what separates the great like A-Rod from the greatest like Roger... the ability to prevail in the most critical moments

[@blinkMATIC]

im a die-hard roddick fan,but this match is the proof of greatness. Roger Federer is the greatest player of all time,hands down. Dominating Roddick like that during a best of 5 sets match?Not easy at all. Sure,you can take andy down in straight sets,but this was just too much.Roger new where the ball was going even before Andy hit it. IT WAS TOO MUCH. He will eventually win another major...I hope

[@funkrafty]

Excellent explanation - couldn't pinpoint Feds silky power gen and Rod's awkwardness.

[@weej267]

In response to people bashing Roddick: Yes, Federer is incredible (greatest player ever, IMO). However, Roddick is also extremely talented. When he was at the top of his game, he had incredible movement and good court positioning combined with a great serve and forehand. These two players don't have that much difference in their level of play. The problem is that Federer's game happens to exploit every weakness in Roddick's. It's like how Nadal happens to exploit Federer's weaknesses.

[@Staunomat]

@Rafathaman94 Of course, since it is utterly impossible to just repaint a court you basically HAVE to make it slower...

[@dkong13able]

@DestroyerAlexandros uh huh so i guess you clearly dont stay up to date. if you've seen his serve lately you'd see the variety of spins and pace he has put on it. and you say he "pats" his forehand but really its just that he has a windshield wiper forehand as opposed to federer and sampras whose strokes go through more. as far as pace, roddick is hitting just as hard or harder than federer

[@extradutyfelt1]

Maybe Andy could have used the slice backhand to change up the pace..the more rythm there was from the baseline, the better it was for Roger..