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Andy Roddick`s 19-match winning streak ends
US, Sept 20: Andy Roddick`s 19-match winning streak came to Juddering halt on slow Slovakian clay on Friday as the US Open champion fell 3-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 to Dominik Hrbaty in the Davis Cup.
US, Sept 20: Andy Roddick`s 19-match winning streak came to Juddering halt on slow Slovakian clay on Friday as the US Open champion fell 3-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 to Dominik Hrbaty in the Davis Cup.
Roddick started his first match since winning his
maiden grand slam the same way he closed out that victory at Flushing Meadows -- with an ace -- but he was ultimately powerless to prevent Slovakia taking a 1-0 lead in their World Group playoff tie.
The power game that served the world number two so well in New York was of little use on the slow clay court Slovakia laid down for the tie and the boisterous, and often rude, home crowd played its part in his downfall.
Roddick had not lost since a Washington semi-final in August against Britain`s Tim Henman. Since then he had racked up victories at the Canadian Masters, Cincinnati Masters and the US Open.
But on Friday he ran out of ideas. "Obviously I don`t think that was up to the standards that I have been playing at recently, but he played well," a disappointed Roddick said.
"I had to stop and start, and I didn`t really get a groove on my serve. In the second set I was having to step back a lot because of this, that and the other, and I just lost feeling in my serve a bit," he added mainly in reference to the crowd noise.
Hrbaty, a solid claycourter who reached the French Open semifinals in 1999, moved Roddick around the court. The American also found himself several times in the unfamiliar position of being down triple break point while serving.
Hrbaty, who was a clear underdog with a ranking of 53, used his flat ground strokes to perfection, and rode the emotions of the home crowd to victory in just over two hours.
"I came in thinking I was mentally ready but it`s tough when you are so grooved on a surface you have been playing on the whole summer and then switch and come into a different situation," Roddick said adding he hopes to get a chance to redeem himself in the reverse singles on Sunday.
The defeat leaves Roddick with a 7-3 Davis Cup record, with all three losses coming on clay.
Bureau Report
Roddick had not lost since a Washington semi-final in August against Britain`s Tim Henman. Since then he had racked up victories at the Canadian Masters, Cincinnati Masters and the US Open.
But on Friday he ran out of ideas. "Obviously I don`t think that was up to the standards that I have been playing at recently, but he played well," a disappointed Roddick said.
"I had to stop and start, and I didn`t really get a groove on my serve. In the second set I was having to step back a lot because of this, that and the other, and I just lost feeling in my serve a bit," he added mainly in reference to the crowd noise.
Hrbaty, a solid claycourter who reached the French Open semifinals in 1999, moved Roddick around the court. The American also found himself several times in the unfamiliar position of being down triple break point while serving.
Hrbaty, who was a clear underdog with a ranking of 53, used his flat ground strokes to perfection, and rode the emotions of the home crowd to victory in just over two hours.
"I came in thinking I was mentally ready but it`s tough when you are so grooved on a surface you have been playing on the whole summer and then switch and come into a different situation," Roddick said adding he hopes to get a chance to redeem himself in the reverse singles on Sunday.
The defeat leaves Roddick with a 7-3 Davis Cup record, with all three losses coming on clay.
Bureau Report