I fear Andy's chances for Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year are not looking good. At the start of the year I predicted that he might make the semis of one of these grand slams but this now looks completely unrealistic and even with a very favourable draw I would be surprised to see him make the second week of either event. Indeed he may struggle to reach the second round.
While he continues to show moments of brilliance, the foundations of his game are not in place and opponents don't have to do anything special to beat him right now. My own expectations of how he would perform this year have turned out to be hopelessly inaccurate and it could well be several years before all the elements of his game are in place.
For Roland Garros I'd like to see Andy take far more risks than he has in the four matches on clay that I've seen this year. I'd rather he attempt to hit 30 backhand winners and succeed with 18 than restrict himself to just 5 attempts. Similarly with his serve, a genuine attempt to win the point with his first serve and a more ambitious second serve, even at a price of an increase in the number of double faults. It might result in him losing his opening round match but in the long run it's the only way he's going to challenge the very best players on the surface.
As for Wimbledon I suspect everyone is going to be more than a little disappointed with Andy's performances this year. The expectations are likely to be overwhelming for a player whose game is not ready.
I seem to remember being accused at the end of last year of being a pessimist. It is starting to look as though I am just a realist.
I still think he has a lot of talent, but immediate results are not going to fall into his lap, he needs to mature mentally as well as physically. He needs time, encouragement, and a good coach that he is prepared to listen to.
I seem to remember being accused at the end of last year of being a pessimist. It is starting to look as though I am just a realist. I still think he has a lot of talent, but immediate results are not going to fall into his lap, he needs to mature mentally as well as physically. He needs time, encouragement, and a good coach that he is prepared to listen to.
You're looking very wise at the moment.
(And I don't think I could bear to watch many more displays like the Blake match although the positive aspect of that defeat was that it exposed some of the weaknesses that we've been mentioning for the last 9 months or so.)
