THE tennisreporters.net NEWSLETTER: WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, NO. 36

Leif Shiras: Andy has swagger of a champ
Federer needs to learn to win ugly; Grosjean's a magician; Rye grass hurting Tim

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Susan & Fred Mullane/ Camerawork USA, Inc.

FROM WIMBLEDON – Sky Sports and Fox analyst Leif Shiras broadcasts more hours of tennis than any other American, sometimes commenting on four matches a day during men's Masters Series tournaments. Shiras, who reached the round of 16 of Wimbledon in 1989, sat down with tennisreporters.net's Matthew Cronin on a rainy Wednesday at the AELTC to break down the men's draw before he and partner Derrick Rostagno went out to play Jim Grabb and Jacob Hlasek in the 35s doubles.

tennisreporters.net: Who's your favorite to come away with the men's trophy?
Leif Shiras: Andy Roddick. Brad Gilbert has given him that little extra swagger and just that bit of extra self-belief has really helped. He hadn't done any real technical changes, but technically Andy is a little better just because of his increased belief. He's the biggest favorite here. He won Queens, and Hewitt, McEnroe and Sampras have proved that can be a good omen for winning the Wimbledon title. There's a real energy and momentum that's developing with him.

tr.net: Brad has always said he "doesn't do grips," but Andy's backhand is far better than it was last year and he's stepping into his returns more, which has helped a ton.
Shiras: [Pete] Sampras proved at the US Open last year that Andy couldn't hit a backhand passing shot. This year we've seen many times at the Master Series that Andy can go down the line with his backhand – flatten it out – he can hurt you more. A little more diversity in his backhand has been invaluable. His return isn't brilliant but better. He still has a way to go there and he knows it. But he's great athlete and has the swagger of a champion. [Roger] Federer also has the physical talent it win it all.

tr.net: But you never where Roger the Dodger's head is.
Shiras: I don't know why that is because I watch him play and he's an absolute genius sometimes. I see him in the locker room and he's one of the boys. But there are times he's not mentally there. When things are working for him, he's brilliant, but when there not, he's not comfortable struggling, bumping up against it and trying to find a way to win ugly. He still has to win pretty and that's something he has to find a way through.

tr.net: You can see that with Federer at the Slams – Roland Garros has been a horror show for him the last two years. The strange thing is that he's a great pressure player in Davis Cup, but at the majors he collapses. But it's been different for him this fortnight.
Shiras: Roland Garros was too bad because he played well on clay before that. He was so good from the back with variety, power, pace and placement. He's got it all. Perhaps he puts too much pressure on himself. He doesn't seem to play his best outside of Davis Cup.

tr.net: Assuming he beats the injured Sjeng Schalken and Roddick get by Jonas Bjorkman, what are Federer's chances against Andy?

Shiras: That's a mouth-watering match. That's what tennis all about, who's going to grab the crown. Without Pete and Andre in the draw, these guys have a chance to cement their reputations. These are the moments where they have to prove themselves. I feel Roddick can break down Federer, who cannot just one-shot the points. Andy is going to make him play a lot longer.So much of the result will be based on how Andy serves because when he's lights out, he can take down anyone, regardless of how well they are playing. But if he's a little off and Federer sees a lot of second serves, it's a different match. If Andy serves 70 percent on his first serve he's going to win the tournament. If he serves 60 percent, he's still the favorite. You have to give the edge to Roddick.

tr.net: Let's flip to other side of the draw. [Sebastien] Grosjean is up two sets to one over [Tim] Henman, and Mark Philippoussis and Alexander Popp are locked up in the fifth set. Who comes out of there?
Shiras: It's tailor made for the winner of the Henman-Grosjean match. The intangible is experience. Philippoussis has the '98 US Open final and Henman and Grosjean have reached Slam semis. Both Henman and Grosjean have the skills to pay the bills, shots off both wings. Grosjean is a magic man. He's totally good, so fun to watch. He has swagger, too. A belief that's real deep.

tr.net: The "obvious" Tim question: Does he really have the goods physically and mentally to win it all?
Shiras: He has his best chance at it this year. I'd say he has three years left in his career. He has a quarter with Grosjean, and a potential semi with Mark or Popp. It's his big chance, but there's pressure.

tr.net: Does he bear pressure well?
Shiras: I feel he has endured the pressure well under the intense scrutiny the British press put him under.

tr.net: In the past, Henman has been beaten by flat out better players – Sampras, [Michael] Stich, [Goran] Ivanisevic, and [Lleyton] Hewitt. But let's not forget that Philippoussis beat him here in 2000. Yet none of the guys still left are former Wimbledon champs and he has chances against all of them.
Shiras: Something significant to take note of in regards to Henman is that the new rye grass they planted makes second serves sit up. I'm playing on it and you cannot zip the balls through so easily. You can see that a guy like Grosjean can run down balls and really hurt Henman. It drives me crazy that the AELTC would do that! We wouldn't slow down Ashe Stadium for Sampras, we'd speed it up, which we did. It's altered the play, which is why Hewitt had such great success against Henman last year, because the second ball – Henman's bread and butter volley – was just sitting there. If you don't get a first serve in, the second serve can be a sitter and a hard slice doesn't stay as low – it's a sitter in the hitting zone. You have to deliver something really special on your serve now. There's a real playability to the surface. You cannot end points so easily. But it is a nice surface now.

tr.net: Philippoussis has had a great tournament up until his first two sets against Popp. He's a guy we've been saying could win the title for years. He's really bombing his serves and is crushing balls off the ground. But like Federer, his head is always a question mark.
Shiras: He played a fantastic match against Andre and should have been able to quickly take care of business against Popp, but then you see a guy struggle like that and you know that even though he's trying not to mentally let down, he did any way, which is troublesome. But if he gets through Popp and into the semis, he really does have the weapons to win it – if he's focused.