| Thursday, 26 June 2008 Written by Alix Ramsay Andy Roddick suffered his worst ever defeat at Wimbledon, bounced out of the second round 6-7, 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 by Janko Tipsarevic, the world No. 40, from Serbia. Never before had Roddick lost so early at The All England Club. Twice a finalist here and a quarter-finalist last year, he regards the lawns of SW19 as his second home and his best chance of winning a Grand Slam title. Those ambitions will have to wait another year. Received wisdom has it that Roddick is beatable, even on the fastest of surfaces, which give his thumping serve yet more fizz. For his opponents, getting his serve back is key. If you can get the ball in play, anything is possible. That sounds a good deal easier than it actually is but the theory has been put into practice many times. Tim Henman used to take one look at Roddick and smile. Britain's former national treasure had an unerring knack of knowing where the big American was going to plant the ball, get his racket there first and then stand back and watch Roddick implode. It worked a treat, time after time. Roddick's confidence was not exactly at an all-time high as he settled into Wimbledon. A shoulder injury had limited his clay court season and then, when he was finally fit to return to work, Rafael Nadal had limited his run at Queen's Club to no more than a semi-final place – and Queen's is a tournament Roddick has won four times in the past five years. Taking on Tipsarevic, he was soon a bundle of jangling nerves. Everything was getting under his skin – and chief among his list of complaints was that muscular bloke from Serbia. A bit like chewing gum stuck to the sole of his shoe, Roddick could not shift Tipsarevic and the more he tried, the messier the whole situation became. Carlos Ramos, the umpire, got a piece of Roddick's mind on more than one occasion. Firstly it was Ramos's failure to call a let when Roddick's serve clipped the net cord and landed on the service line (Roddick had to challenge using Hawk-Eye and was proved right, a point he made quite clear to Ramos). Then there was Tipsarevic's habit of grunting after he had hit the ball, leaving Roddick unsure whether to return the ball or the grunt. Then there was his own inability to deal with the problem before him. Providing a running commentary on his own strengths and weaknesses, Roddick appeared to be holding a tennis class for beginners: "Andy, don't hit second service returns into the net!" "Just do what you are supposed to do!" By the time he missed the chance to break in the fourth set after 2 ¾ hours of play, his language had become considerably more industrial and his instructions to himself unrepeatable. Tipsarevic has, as Londoners would put it, "previous" in tormenting top seeds on show courts. He had kept Roger Federer busy for five gruelling sets in the third round of the Australian Open in January, the Swiss only escaping 10-8 in the fifth. He does everything well, but nothing to excess. His serve is solid (Roddick had eight break points but could not convert a single one), he is ready, willing and able to attack the net, he is smart and he moves like greased lightning. Oh, and he's got decent touch, too. And for all that Roddick cracked down 27 aces, the Serb managed to get the ball back more often than not. For 3 hours 6 minutes, Tipsarevic kept pestering, pressing and pushing Roddick. He never let up and he never let his level drop, not even for a moment. Roddick just could not get any leverage on the Serb's serve and had five opportunities whisked from his grasp in the first set – he just squeaked through in the tie-break – and did not get another break point to play with until the fourth set. When those evaporated, the game was up. Always playing catch up in the tie-break, he was on his way home.
| Centre Court - Gentlemen's Singles - 2nd Round | |
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Match Statistics
Tipsarevic Stuns Roddick
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