From the The Miami Herald

"Andy Roddick is well aware that his record is 1-12 against top-ranked Roger Federer, but he said he ''can't wait'' to play the seemingly invincible Swiss in 2007 because ``for the first time in three years, I feel the gap's going my way.'' Related Topics
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His last two losses to Federer -- at the season-ending Master's Cup and the U.S. Open final -- were close. Federer won 4-6, 7-6 (12-10), 6-4 in Shanghai and 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 at Flushing Meadows.
''I was the better player for the better part of two sets in our last match, and I felt unlucky not to win, as opposed to feeling lucky to be in it, and that's a big difference,'' said Roddick, who was at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood on Tuesday promoting his charity celebrity poker tournament, which is set for Friday. ``I respect Roger as a person and a champion, like everyone else, but I'm going after him a bit more next year. I'm looking forward to playing him.''

Roddick credits his more aggressive approach, both in tactics and mind-set, to Jimmy Connors, who has been coaching him since July and will participate in the poker tournament along with Roddick's ex-girlfriend/actress/singer Mandy Moore, Paris and Nicky Hilton, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Sanders and Jason Taylor. :yikes:

Andre Agassi can't make the poker tournament :whistle: , but he will be at the Polo Club of Boca Raton on Sunday for Roddick's tennis exhibition.

Connors has persuaded Roddick to do what others have been trying to make him do for years: Charge the net more and take serves on the rise, rather than whack balls from behind the baseline.
''We set a whole new game plan on the fly, and it was all foreign to me, but now that I am training those things the rest of the offseason, I think I'll be feeling confident in Australia,'' he said.
Roddick, who ended the season ranked No. 6, said he also is motivated by his good friend James Blake, who leapfrogged him and is a career-high No. 4.

''We'll push each other,'' Roddick said. ``I think we've gotten closer since James has improved because we're in tournaments longer together now, doing all the media stuff, competing for the same things. I'm happy for him, but we want to rip each other's heads off, too, when we're on the court, so it can only be a good thing to have us both near the top five.''
Roddick is training in South Florida with Connors this week, and possibly next, then probably is headed back to his home in Austin. He plans to spend a week training in Hawaii on the way to Australia in early January.

Between training and charity events, Roddick has been keeping close tabs on college football and the BCS. He has strong views about what team should play Ohio State for the national title, and University of Florida fans are going to like the tennis player's rationale.
''Michigan has been the second-best team all season, but I still think Florida earned the right to play Ohio State because they won their conference,'' Roddick said. ``If you're going to win the national title, you should win your conference. Michigan had its shot and lost. That's not to say Michigan wouldn't beat Florida, but Florida deserves to play for the national title.''

Tickets for the poker tournament range from $20 (spectator) to $1,000 (VIP package, seat in tournament, after party with celebrities, free food and beverage). All proceeds go to the Andy Roddick Foundation, which targets children in need."

So, it seems that you need to acquire the Casino mentality in order to beat FED: what do you think? Did you believe this will be enough for him to beat FED?

Hi TV, thanks for this. I certainly believe Federer is a better player than Roddick, but their head to head shouldn't be quite so one-sided. If Roddick had got some luck, e.g when he was dominating Federer in the 2004 Wimbledon final before the rain saved the fortunate Swiss, it could actually be an even head to head. Unfortunately I don't see Roddick beating Federer over 5 sets unless he plays a blinder and Federer hits his forehand like he does his backhand.

The key for Roddick is first and foremost to forget about Federer. Play his own game, and of he gets drawn against the number 1, worry about him then. In terms of a game plan, serve and volley 75% of points, including second serve, chip and charge on the return game quite often, and generally keep the points short. This tactic should have enabled him to record a straight sets victory over Federer in Shanghai but unfortunately he choked badly. I certainly agree that his luck is due to be reversed though, and Federer's too, which is why I predict a largely unsuccessful season for him next year.

Yeah, that's the key to beating Fed, play poker with the Hilton sisters :rolleyes: :doh:

You're just jealous. ;)

Hi Wise --- I remember watching the Fed-Roddick match of 2004 on TV (in fact it was what got me back into tennis). I don't really remember it has Federer being 'saved' by something; rather I seem to remember Roddick basically going for broke with his power, which is always sure to eventually produce some errors, and Federer in the end having more skill overall. But it certainly was a pretty close and exciting match to watch!

In any case, I agree with your assessment. The 1-12 record is a bit of a travesty; worse players than Roddick have a better h2h against Fed. A-Rod has gotten closer to Fed now, so perhaps he can pull a win off next year? I'm not sure I see it happening, as he would have to progress quite far into the tournament to meet Fed. But in a best-of-three he should have the confidence that he could win it, after Shanghai.

He still seems to talk an awful lot about Federer, and I agree --- he's got to stop worrying about him, and make sure that he actually gets to play against him first.

One of his problems is that his game really doesn't seem all that suited to clay. How do you fancy his chances of some more success on clay in 2007? I suppose Jimmy Connors had some good results on clay (he won the USO on clay if I recall correctly), so perhaps he can give Andy some hints?

Hi jedi, not so sure Roddick can ever become a force on clay. It's not beyond the realms of possibility that he improves, but I really don't think his game is at all suited to the surface. His only weapon, i.e his serve, is nullified on clay,as is his big forehand, his defensive skills aren't very good, and his backhand is woeful. However when I see players like Ljubicic reaching the French Open semi-final, I suppose anything is possible.

How do you see him faring on other surfaces? I think if he serve volleys more often, and gets a decent draw, he has the chance of reaching the final all the other Slams, although it's unlikely. I see a 4th round exit at the Aussie, and semis/final at Wimbledon and the US. I don't think he'll ever win a Slam again, his game's simply too limited.

Well, with courts seemingly getting a bit faster again, volleys should become increasingly important, and Andy certainly could use some work on them. I'm still not convinced that S&V is a feasible strategy by itself --- passing shots these days can be pretty special. If anyone's serve could support some S&V, it should be Andy's --- although he might have the problem that, when his serves come back, they come back fast!

Overall, if he can improve his volleys, then S&V could be an important weapon in his arsenal, on fast enough courts. However, I think the main improvement he has made recently, and which he should continue under Connors' supervision, is not so much technical: he seems to be playing much smarter tennis, rather than relying on brute force and his serve most of the time.

If he keeps this up, I think he ought to be capable to be #2 on fast hardcourts, by a good margin. That means I hope to see him doing well in the USO again.

Grass seems to be playing slower than hardcourts these days :yikes:. Still, Andy has had some good runs at Wimbledon, so why not again in 2007? I bet after this year, he's quite hungry for it - but I see other players also able to make an impression again: Nadal (hopefully), Murray; what about Baghdatis, Hewitt?

I haven't got a clue what the Australian Open is going to be like, so I won't speculate. In a way, it may be the most exciting slam of the year: it's not clear what the conditions are going to be; no clear favorites apart from Fed (who, however, wasn't as convincing there last year as at Wimby and USO), but many people hungry to make an impact. Still a month to go :(

Agree there MJT,I did hear in one Roddick interview he had made some slight adjustments,but as you say he's playing smarter.The old maxim is play to your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.This is certainly the case with a player like Roddick.Just by stepping into the court more or standing further back changes his game completely.

I admire him for doing something that isn't natural for him,which is to volley.I personally think he's safer trying to gamble than having his backhand destroyed from the baseline.If he really is going to be successful with the volley winner,he does need to volley better on the forehand wing,something that masters of the passing shot expose.Overall this is a totally different Roddick,not just in his game,but mentally.

I also predict that No2 on hardcourts is there for him,if he does well in the first six months,he could even end up battling Nadal for the year end No2 spot.