THE tennisreporters.net NEWSLETTER: TUESDAY, JANUARY 13, NO. 63

Andy Roddick: doping not widespread problem
Federer is the player he has to beat; No more "Can you beat Serena?" questions

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

After he and Stefan Koubek lost the doubles final in Qatar on Sunday, Andy Roddick hopped on a long flight Melbourne, where's he scheduled to play in the Kooyong exo prior to the Aussie Open with the likes of Roger Federer and Andre Agassi.

But even though he hadn't been Down Under for a full day yet, Roddick was bothered by the focus of the press on the recent revelation that Greg Rusedski tested positive for the steroid nandroline, pushing the so-called feel-good stories to the in-brief sections.

In the past week, it's been revealed that Rusedski and Mariano Puerta tested positive for steroids, but Roddick said that doping is not a widespread problem in tennis.

"I see on a daily basis how hard people work," Roddick said. "That's the way I approach it. It takes just a couple of people who maybe have done the wrong thing to bring the focus there. I know the players who I play with are clean. It's disappointing to see."

Roddick was also surprised by Rusedski's contention that six other top players were "scared out of their minds" at the prospect of their positive tests being made public.

Rusedski's lawyer, Mark Gay, told The Observer, "There are probably six players out there scared out of their minds that they will be dragged through this the way Greg is being."

"Maybe Greg does know something, but if he does, he's giving some information and I'm not sure where its coming from," Roddick said. "As far as I know, that information is pretty privileged and private. The thing that pisses me off if it takes away from the good stories in the game right now. Were building momentum and something like this comes up. I'm not hear to talk about guilt or innocence, but it's disappointing when you are reading the papers in Australia and that's what they choose to focus on."

Federer is the player he has to beat
Rusedski's contentions about how many men have tested positive (is it really 47?) and whether the ATP is at fault will continue to take up space in the sports press, but Roddick has more pressing matters at hand. He needs to find a way to consistently beat No. 2 Roger Federer if he is to convince the world that he is a deserving No. 1. Roddick is 1-5 against Federer.

"Obviously, he's gotten the better of me so far," Roddick said. "I feel like the first three times we played it was earlier on in both of our careers and he was just much better at that point, plain and simple. I didn't have nearly the amount of polish on my game that he had, and the last two times I have lost to him have been first-set tiebreakers and that's crucial. Whereas normally I can find a way to win those, he's gotten the better of me in those. He's a great frontrunner. Once you get down to him you don't see him all of a sudden take his foot off the gas. It's crucial to try to play well from the start against Federer."

Roddick says that the inventive Federer "inspires" him to take his game to new heights and the half-Floridian, half-Texan is striving to improve his return games. For the Master Blaster, that means a lot more of the tennis that he showed at the US Open: a riskier return of serve off his foe's second serves; further confidence in his backhand down the line and a willingness to go to net. His forehand will take care of everything else.

Roddick's terrific six weeks during the summer hard court season proved a lot to the rest of the tour, but he's still a bit of a question mark in front of some of his peers. He did not dominate on any surface but outdoor hard. That's means that Roddick will have to go deep Down Under again and should he reach the semis like he did last year, a victory there will be expected. Last year, he pulled out two amazing victories over Mikael Youzney and Younes El Aynaoui, but then was crushed by Rainer Schuettler.

This year, he is expected to his matches more under control or continue to win marathons, a la Albert Costa. After all, number ones are capable of winning three five-setters in a row, aren't they?
"I feel like I gained a little bit more respect from the players, but with that being said, there's also a bull's eye on my back every time I go out there now," he said. "They'd all love to beat the guy who is ranked No. 1. I know I have a couple of times that I have done it in the past, it does make it harder, but I enjoy challenge like that."

A quick look at Roddick's record against the top guys reveals that he hasn't has easy pickings over the past year. Not only does Federer have a clear edge over him, Ferrero, Agassi and Schuettler all play him tough.

"I feel like I am on top of the rankings, but I don't think there's any player that's clearly head and shoulders above the rest right now," Roddick said. "So I was just the one who was lucky enough to be on top of the points standings [at the end of 2003]. I definitely feel that there's a lot of guys and we are all pushing each other to become better."

No more "Can you beat Serena?" questions
If the year goes as planned for the ATP, its various scandals will fade away and the cororful young 20-somethings will battle it out for the top spot again. Roddick clearly remembers the days when he would go out in public and instead of being asked about the American male up and comers, a fan would ask: "Can you beat Serena?"

Roddick had a good laugh.

"You definitely get the feeling that the Williams sisters totally took the game for a while, took it by storm and deservedly so," he said. "They are a great story, but with them maybe taking a little bit of time off maybe it's our turn to maybe step it up a little bit. … There are a lot of personalities right now in the men's game, a lot of contrasting styles, and with the exception of Andre, there's been almost a complete changing of the guard as far as the young guys taking over at the top of the game. That makes it very exciting; people are getting intrigued again; maybe they can sense a new generation of players that they will be able to watch for a little while to come."