1 Response to ao10cilic_roddick

1. Voo de Mar says:

   January 19, 2025 at 5:07 pm

   Points won by each set: | 45-45, 32-23, 20-27, 17-27, 33-27 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   25 % Cilic – 39 of 155
   28 % Roddick – 40 of 141

   At the time, Cilic’s most important victory of his career [he celebrated it on his knees – photo] which gave him his maiden major semifinal. The 21-year-old Croat [14] was dominating rallies from the start with much more fluid baseline strokes off both wings; he took the opener 7/4 after withstanding a set point at 4:5 on serve. After that set Roddick [7] took an MTO to his right shoulder. It didn’t help in the 2nd set – he dropped his serve twice in a row, and when it seemed that he lost the only weapon (the serve) which would carry him through the match, quite strange things began to happen. Roddick significantly decreased the speed of his first serves which increased the percentage of his 1st serves in, and the change of the match complexion somehow affected Cilic, turning him into an error machine as the rallies were more frequent and slower. In the 4th set Roddick already led 5:0 serving. The American opened the decider with “40/0” as a receiver; Cilic saved the triple break point with the help of big serves though, and came back to his super solid baseline game from the first two sets. He led 4:1* (40/15), yet Roddick avoided a two-break down deficit, nevertheless he couldn’t have counted on casual baseline errors of his opponent anymore and Cilic converted his first match point when Roddick sent his backhand wide.

   Serve & volley: Cilic 0, Roddick 2/4

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