Andy Roddick overcame an early service break to come back and crush Jose Acasuso, the guy who dug himself out of a deep hole to blow Boy Andy out of Roland Garros in a five-set second-rounder last year. Given the career convulsions Roddick’s been going through, this was a must-win match - one of those spooky scenarios that doesn't really have an upside, and is anathema to any struggling or slumping player.
You know, how much worse can it get? I just lost to Acasuso. Again. In my first match at Indian Wells. That much.
Lisa Dillman of The Los Angeles Times took Roddick’s pulse in this to-the-point story and Roddick also had some typically edgy comments of his own.
It’s striking to see how consistently – and persistently – Roddick treads the fine line between being collegial and adversarial with the press pariahs that gather round him during this extended death watch for the American game.
Roddick acknowledged the importance of his match with Acasuso, and said he was pleased with the “little things” like mixing up his serves and also his returns, and avoiding doing the same thing over and over. That, of course, is the basic quandary he faces as a bread-and-butter power player whose game isn’t quite overpowering enough to resolve the dilemmas presented by the Federers and Nadals. He has to make the best use of his power and straightforward assets without allowing his groove to become a rut.
Roddick did make a noteworthy point that addresses the use – and abuse – of statistics, and one which is often lost on stat freaks and journalists weaned on baseball’s stat-obsessed culture. He was reminded that he made 13 errors on the forehand side, and asked if he kept records on the errors-to-winners ratio. His reply:
And here’s a nice bit of geekery for those of you who like to go out to the local high school courts to crush a few forehands after watching a Roddick match. When he’s misfiring on the forehand, it’s often because he fails to stay with the shot. He gets overeager and jumps up a bit as he finishes. His remedy:
I focused on driving my legs down into the court a little bit more. I was missing them all along. It was just the same sort of mistakes so, you know, I just focused on maybe staying – staying lower and staying down through it as opposed to jumping up a little bit.