Notes on A Drawsheet

Is Andy just dandy under Brad?
Hewitt under Stolts' wing; Federer conquers Halle; Woodbridge moves up doubles ladder; Maggie one-ups Manuela

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA, Inc.

Should the yellowball universe take anything significant positives out of Andy Roddick's run to Stella Artois Championship title last week?

Sure, but how many of them have staying power is up to debate. You have to love Roddick's wins over Greg Rusedski, Taylor Dent, Andre Agassi and Sebastien Grosjean and that his title-run occurred during his first week under new coach Brad Gilbert. But recall that Roddick won St. Poelten the week before Roland Garros and then washed out in Paris, leading to Tariq Benhabiles' dismissal.

Roddick's play at small-to-midsize tournaments hasn't been the question over the past year and a half, it's been his performance at the past five majors, where he was dreadful on clay and grass, and on hard courts and Rebound Ace, played very well up until his money matches and then was bowled over.

But in becoming the first American champion at the Queen's Club since Pete Sampras in 1999 (the man who bowled a 300 at him at the '02 U.S. Open), Roddick got his rhythm back on his serve, scored revenge victories wins over two compatriots who had beaten him earlier this year (Dent and Agassi) and showed that his coaching change could quickly reap benefits.

"Sometimes your titles come when you least expect them," Roddick said. "I came in not knowing where I was, there's been a lot of changes going on, and then I played great tennis all week, so you never know what to expect. … I feel like I will be better prepared for Wimbledon than I've ever been. But you have to guard against overconfidence."

MUST WORK ON WEAKNESSES
Everyone who saw Roddick's deer-in-the-headlights loss to Greg Rusedski at '02 Wimby knows what Roddick's problems on grass were (or are): his return of serve is marginal, he can't hit a backhand passing shot and he doesn't stick his volleys. If he consistently serves in the 140s every single match, he's a threat to beat everyone. but that's very difficult over seven contests, so at the very least, he needs to slightly plug up his holes.

"My returns have been a lot better," Roddick said. "I've been putting them in court and giving myself a chance, so that was pleasing. If I can take this form into Wimbledon, I will be pretty happy. I'm sure Brad will have a few things up his sleeve for next week."

Gilbert wears an oversize Raider's jersey and will make sure that Roddick focuses on his strengths (his serve and forehand) and doesn't get too obsessed with his weaknesses. He did a terrific job in psyching Roddick up to beat Rusedski in Queens, but the two could meet in the second round of Wimbledon, where the British crowds will be much more vocal and the stakes a million times higher.
"Rome wasn't built in a day," Gilbert said on his web site, Bradgilberttennis.com. "But Andy's a talented player with loads of potential."

Even though he won't publicly say it loud and clear -- yet - Gilbert deserves some props for Roddick's victory over Agassi. No, Brad wasn't responsible for Andy's 27 aces or record 149-mph bomb, but just having the sometimes mastermind in his corner surely aided Roddick in his tight 6-1, 6-7(5), 7-6 (6) victory. It was Roddick's first victory against Agassi in five meetings.

"Brad just told me to go for it," Roddick said. "Even though he coached Andre for so long, it doesn't mean there's any holes in his game. You've still got to go out and beat one of the best players of all time, so there's no magic potion."

Agassi sounded a little peeved after the loss, but at least he played a grass court warm-up this year and has a nice draw the first two rounds of Wimby before he has to face the likes of Younes El Aynaoui.

"I was pretty fortunate to even have a chance of winning today with the way he was serving and with the way I was striking the ball," Agassi said. "I felt like I deserved to lose that match and yet I still had some chances, so that's a positive. … He has a lot of firepower and he has a real nice game. But I'm hoping for a lot more from myself and I'm looking forward to the challenge."

Hewitt under Stolts' wing

Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA, Inc.

Defending Wimbledon champ Lleyton Hewitt also just went through a coaching change, when Jason Stoltenberg resigned just after Roland Garros to allegedly spend more time with his two young children children. Stoltenberg has been with Hewitt since he split with Darren Cahill (now Agassi's coach) at the end of '01. Hewitt said their was no bad blood. "Jason's been great for my game and I understand why he has taken this decision," he said. Hewitt's assistant coach, Roger Rasheed (who once worked with Alicia Molik) has replaced Stoltenberg.

The timing of the split is very suspicious and ominous for Rusty (one of Hewitt's nicknames). Hewitt may get along great with Rasheed, but he had a nice run under Stolts, including his Wimby Crown and second year in a row at No. 1 . The view from here is that the soft-spoken, polite Stoltenberg could not longer deal with weekly fireworks in the towering inferno that is the Hewitt camp. That's what happened with Cahill. Who's the next good mate who will attempt to coach Hewitt? Wally Masur? John Alexander? John Fitzgerald?

Federer conquers Halle
In an eerie coincidence to the Roddick situation, Roger Federer won Halle with a resounding 6-1, 6-3 victory over Nicolas Kiefer. That's the same Federer who was so many people's favorite to win Roland Garros and who like Roddick, bombed out in the first round. It was Federer's eighth career ATP title, first on grass, and fourth on the year – all on different surfaces – following victories in Marseille (indoors), Dubai (hard) and Munich (clay).

"I've been waiting for a grass title for long. All four titles [on different surfaces] in one year is very special for me," he said. " I'm surprising myself with how all-around my game is. For good or bad, I lost early in the French which gave me extra time to prepare here and that really helped. This is not a small tournament at all, it's a big one. I played great in the final and hopefully I'll continue to perform this way at Wimbledon. I feel much more comfortable on the grass than the clay. I know that my chances on grass are better than in Paris and I'm going into Wimbledon really confident." Not too confident, we hope.

Woodbridge moves up doubles ladder
With his 6-3, 6-4 win together with Jonas Bjorkman over Martin Damm/Cyril Suk in Halle, Todd Woodbridge moved into sole possession of third on the all-time doubles win list with 75 career titles. He's now behind only John McEnroe's 77 career doubles titles and Tom Okker's 78 career titles.

McEnroe has joked that if Woodbridge equals the American's total of 77, McEnroe will play the next doubles tournament together with him, as they both shoot for Okker's total of 78 titles.

Maggie one-ups Manuela
It's too bad that Maggie Maleeva didn't put the same effort into her tennis when she first came on tour that she has the past couple years, because if she did, she might have bagged a couple Slam titles. Last week, the Bulgarian captured her first title on grass by winning Birmingham with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Shinobu Asagoe of Japan.

"My win in Moscow last year was the best of my career because I beat three of the top eight players in the world, but this would have to be one of my most satisfying because it means I have won a tournament on every surface," said Maleeva.

Maleeva went one better than her older sister, Manuela, who reached the Birmingham final but lost to Pam Shriver.

"It's great to have been in the final here 16 years after my sister, and I did better than her," Maleeva joked.