Roddick vs. Federer could cap Slam season
Andy Roddick, at heart, is an entertainer. So he loves the U.S. Open and its Big Apple buzz, the fans who offer players high-fives, just the general state of hyperactivity.
And there’s this not-so-little matter: It was the site of his first Grand Slam title a year ago.
Roger Federer, at heart, is a fastidious tennis player. The Swiss star could do without the Open’s hustle and bustle, heat and humidity and wind, traffic on the trip from Manhattan to Queens, airplanes’ roars, just the general state of hyperactivity.
And it’s the only major where he hasn’t even reached the quarterfinals.
The Open, which begins today in New York, would be the perfect setting for a Federer vs. Roddick final, a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown to cap the Grand Slam season and jump-start a rivalry to carry the game. With contrasting talents and personalities, there’s no reason they can’t form a Borg-McEnroe, Europe-U.S., love-one-hate-the-other axis.
Roddick leads the tour in match wins (60-12, .833); Federer has a higher winning percentage (58-6, .906). Federer leads with eight titles; no one else has more than Roddick’s four.
Federer won three of the past five Slams, and could be the first man since Mats Wilander in 1988 with three in a year.
Hewitt wins TD Waterhouse Cup
At Commack, N.Y., Lleyton Hewitt tuned up for the U.S. Open by defeating Luis Horna of Peru 6-3, 6-1 on Sunday in the TD Waterhouse Cup final for his second straight ATP title.
Hewitt, seeded second and playing as a wild card, won 20 of 22 first-serve points.
US Open Series standings
Lleyton Hewitt and Lindsay Davenport could earn up to $500,000 extra at the U.S. Open because they finished atop the inaugural US Open Series standings.
Hewitt tied defending Open champion Andy Roddick with 155 points by winning the TD Waterhouse Cup tournament. But Hewitt, the 2001 Open winner, takes first place by virtue of more match wins in the series’ events (17-14).
Andre Agassi was third in the men’s standings.
Davenport, who won her last four tourneys, and Amelie Mauresmo tied among women with 100 points each. But Davenport, like Hewitt, had more match wins (9-5).