We have the very intriguing match up between Andy Roddick and Rafael Nadal. Roddick wasn’t able to play at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in ’09 due to injury and Nadal might have wished he had been injured too as he was a shadow of himself going winless in ’09 at The O2 arena. Both players are great and dynamic competitors; this mental match-up is sure to keep the crowd and each player engaged and feeling it.
1. How Virtuous Is Patience? The biggest dilemma for Roddick will be to make good decisions regarding how aggressive to be. He’ll have to bide his time patiently, working for a hittable ball, but Nadal will make Roddick pay if he hesitates or waits a shot too long.
2. Body Blow: Roddick has an incredibly explosive serve. Roddick will have lots of aces, but will also have to mix in the body serve frequently. If he can keep Nadal guessing with the service location (body serve will be key to achieving this), I believe that he will have good first ball opportunities with his forehand.
3. Control Freak: Nadal controls play better than anyone. If Nadal gets into enough points against the Roddick serve, he will bludgeon ball after ball and Roddick might never be able to find firm ground to fight from. Roddick will have to take risks he is unused to taking, but also remember the one place Nadal doesn’t rule the world is up high to his own backhand.
Prediction: Roddick serves lights out and grinds through an epic upset in three sets.
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