Andy Roddick

Roddick Exorcises His Demon

April 4, 2008

If someone were to look for an example of the misuse of the word “rivalry” they would not need to look any further than the so-called feud between Andy Roddick and Roger Federer. Going into Thursday’s Sony Ericsson Open quarter-final match-up between the two, Federer held a glaring 15-1 record against the American. Despite this, Roddick entered the match high on confidence and finally rid himself of the ghosts of Federer past winning 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-3 in Miami.

Roddick credited his not-so-secret weapon for the victory.

“That's probably the best I've served against him. I hit my second serve pretty well also,” he said. “My arm was alive tonight and I was getting pretty good action on it.”

Federer was clearly upset by yet another failed attempt to make his first final of year.

“I am just sort of disappointed not to see my name playing in the finals. It's just disappointing seeing other guys battling it out,” Federer said. “I think I didn't make it tough enough for him to come up with good shots. I missed too many, and I think that was the disappointing part about the match today.”

The challenge now for Roddick will be not letting this triumph overshadow the fact that he still has two more matches to win before claiming the title. Defeating Federer may, in some ways, already feel like he’s won. He will be playing his semifinal match against No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko, a player who he is undefeated against.

Davydenko had his first easy match in Miami eliminating surprise quarter-finalist Janko Tipsarevic 6-2, 6-1 to reach the semis. He had played three three-set matches prior to the quarter-final. Roddick holds a 5-0 record against the Russian but he now knows full well that streaks are made to be broken. Davydenko also knows this and will be ready to come out and fight for his shot at redemption.

The winner of that semifinal match will take on No. 2 Rafael Nadal who advanced to the championship encounter on Friday afternnon thanks to a 7-6(6), 6-2 over Czech Tomas Berdych. Nadal defeated James Blake for the second consecutive time as they also went head-to-head in the quarters of the Pacific Life Open. Blake’s pristine 3-0 against Nadal has now very quickly turned into a very average 3-2 record.

The mighty Spaniard will not only be seeking his first Miami crown, but also his first title of the season. He advanced the final in Key Biscayne in 2005 where he fell to arch rival Roger Federer in an epic five set battle.

The doubles final is set with top-seeds Bob and Mike Bryan taking on No. 4 seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles. The Bryan brothers have yet to win a title this year and would love the opportunity to do so on home soil.