Match analysis: Federer v Roddick

Perfect Serve The Wimbledon final was a match of drama and high tension marked by the exemplary grass court performances of both Roger Federer and Andy Roddick. The two key areas in a match where the outcome hinged on the tiniest of margins were the first serve and each player’s ability to take any opportunity offered on his opponent’s second serve. To win a Wimbledon final you need to be able to serve well for as long as it takes and use this as a platform to put as much pressure on your opponent and wait for them to crack. And it was Federer who was the first to crack. Roddick was directing most of his serves to the centre line, occasionally firing huge serves directly at Federer, a tactic that was enabling him to hold serve well and giving him the platform to attack the Federer serve. He eventually broke the Swiss in the 11th game to claim the opening set. In the second set tiebreak he raced to 6-2 up, a lead that he crucially squandered as Federer fought back with some powerful serving of his own. Over the course of the match Federer was more accurate, hitting 50 aces and spreading his serves equally around the corners of the service boxes to keep Roddick guessing where to go. Roddick was also solid from the back of the court. He directed most of his shots to Federer’s backhand, bossing many of the longer rallies by matching Federer for power, accuracy and concentration. Federer hit 107 winners to Roddick’s 74 so was slightly more attacking despite being unable to break serve until right at the end. Federer was only a fraction ahead of Roddick in the numbers game. In the first four sets Roddick was the only player to break, and did so twice. Federer hit the most aces, 50, and both players were winning three out of every four points on serve. Federer had to wait 77 games to convert his seventh break chance to take the title after an enthralling four hours and 16 minutes.