Terrific at Tie-Breakers
On the grass at Wimbledon, there are always a lot of tie-breakers played. As with many big-servers, Roddick tends to play a lot of tie-breakers and he is on quite a winning streak. So far in 2007, Roddick has won 18 tie-breakers in a row and is 23-3 overall this year. When a player moves into a tie-breaker after a tight set, it can often feel so much longer than a regular game since a player has to win seven points to capture the tie-breaker. At the same time, players usually
feel even more pressure in tie-breakers because they know every point counts so much. To be successful in tie-breakers, players need to be able to produce their best serves and hit their winning shots while avoiding unforced errors. Players such as Andy Roddick who possess huge serves are often perceived to have an advantage in tie-breakers because if he can just hit a few strong serves then it puts a lot of pressure on his opponent. In the end, tie-breakers are very much about confidence… you can only hit your best shots “on-demand” when you have that belief in yourself.
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