Andy Roddick will again prove a mighty
force on Wimbledon's grass with the
biggest serve the game has ever seen,
but his progress has shown signs of
stalling in the last year.
The American lost his US Open title
with a quarter-final defeat to Joachim
Johansson in September and was then
humiliated by Lleyton Hewitt at the
Masters Cup.
That prompted a surprise change of
coaches, with Brad Gilbert being replaced
by the lower-profile Dean Goldfine.
Their partnership has produced titles
in San Jose and Houston and a semi-final
place at the Australian Open.
But Hewitt again proved too good in
Melbourne, as he later did at Indian
Wells, before Roddick suffered his usual
lack of success on clay.
He was clearly happy to get back to
winning ways on grass with a third straight
Queen's title, while at Wimbledon only
Federer has stood in his way in the
last two years.
And despite slipping a couple of places
in the world rankings, Roddick is again
the best bet to upset Federer at SW19.
