The Match

Wow! That was a close one! “Super” Mario Ancic gave Andy Roddick all he could handle in the resumption of the Wimbledon Semifinals. As usual in closely contested matches at Wimbledon, this match came down to a few points, and fortunately for Andy, he won them, and now finds himself in another slam final, and his first at Wimbledon.

In a match where Andy was out aced 13-11, and where his opponent had 12 more winners (58-46), the telling statistic was break points converted. 4/12 vs 2/11. This was evident in the very last games of the match. At 5-5, Andy was given a present when Ancic double-faulted to give Andy the break, and the opportunity to serve his way into the Championship round. However, watching the live scoring quickly went from joy to torture as Andy struggled to hold serve, and nearly found himself in a tiebreaker. Thankfully, after saving a break point, the third match point was a charm, as Andy pounded a forehand winner for the match.

His opponent tomorrow, Independence Day in the USA, is the reigning Champion, and #1 player in the world, Roger Federer. Federer has basically looked like an immortal combination of Borg and Sampras during this event, dominating his opponents, and looking as graceful and composed as any player in recent memory.

This will certainly be quite the challenge for our Andy, but we have grown to understand that Andy is a Champion, one born to compete on the grandest of stages.

Good luck Andy, and may you make all of our dreams come true tomorrow by bringing the title home!