Comments on East Coast Bias: Roger Federer and the Decline of American Tennis

Oh, and Roddick's best match was against Michael C...

2007-09-07T22:28:17.920-04:00

Oh, and Roddick's best match was against Michael Chang in the 2001 French Open. 5 Sets, Roddick gimping and puking from severe cramps managed to beat one of the most gritty players in tennis history. I became a Roddick fan after blundering onto that match, and have slowly and disappointingly lost that excitement since. He's clearly been too busy being famous to take that willpower and devote it to tennis for the last 6 years. Now he's too old to really improve. In a way, Roddick is a microcosm of American sports, with the focus on celebrity, rather than true outright performance.

But I like the stuff Brien writes about! What's sa...

2007-09-07T22:24:04.753-04:00

But I like the stuff Brien writes about! What's sad is that ECB probably has the best "other sports" coverage available in the US. All of my yachting and F1 sites end in co.uk .

Roddick's best match was against Younes El-Aynaoui...

2007-09-07T02:02:35.215-04:00

Roddick's best match was against Younes El-Aynaoui in the 2003 Aussie Open. Perhaps not his best-played, but the most entertaining tennis match I ever saw.

Dude, did you even read the blog? Brien writes abo...

2007-09-07T02:00:40.362-04:00

Dude, did you even read the blog? Brien writes about America's Cup, Formula One, Horse Racing, and MMA. It's like he's that poor schmuck on ESPN.com that has to cover "Other Sports".

And Michael...ixnay on the olumncay poiliationsay.

I agree. Federer is absolutely sick. Not sure if...

2007-09-06T19:38:07.491-04:00

I agree. Federer is absolutely sick. Not sure if you guys got the chance to see the match last night (it didnt start until 10:15pm EDT...perfect for me on the west coast), but the first two sets were an absolutely amazing display of tennis. I don't think Roddick has ever played better in his life. Both men held on serve in both sets, and I don't even know if Roddick lost dozen service POINTS in twelve games. But alas, Federer prevailed in both tiebreakers before Roddick gave up in the third set. When one of the "best of the rest" (which is a monicker that I agree with) plays at his absolute best, and still cant even win a set, you know you are in the presence of greatness.

Federer certainly is one of the five best mens tennis players ever to step on the court. It's tough to judge him against Sampras, Becker, Lendl, and Borg in their respective primes (although most of them played against stiffer competition), but he certainly deserves to be mentioned right with them.