No one following Andy Roddick’s progress would be surprised that he does better in the second half of the season, after the French Open. But isn’t it about time we quantified it, put it into numbers?
Here’s the evidence, beginning with the 2003 season, when Roddick moved to elite status:
* In all matches after the French Open, Roddick is 154-35 (81.5% victories), including 5-0 this year following his win at Queens.
* Year by year after the French: 47-8 in 2003, 41-10 in 2004, 33-7 in 2005, 28-10 in 2006, 5-0 in 2007. One point to be made about ‘04 and ‘06. He played two clay court Davis Cup matches in both years (Spain and Russia), going 0-4 — the only clay he has played following Roland Garros.
* His pre-French Open record dating to 2003: 145-49 (74.7%).
* Roddick on grass: 51-10 (83.6%).
This is Roddick’s comfort zone — Wimbledon, then back to the U.S. for the U.S. Open Series events.