TENNIS NOTEBOOK: RODDICK DECIDES ON CONNORS AS COACH.Byline: MATTHEW KREDELL Staff Writer Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick (born August 30, 1982) is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is the top-ranked American player and fifth-ranked player in the world as of October 1, 2007. He finished sixth in the 2006 ATP Race. , looking to salvage a disastrous season that has yet to see him win a singles title, announced a coaching partnership with tennis great Jimmy Connors James Scott "Jimmy" Connors (born September 2, 1952 in East St. Louis, Illinois) is a former World Number 1 American tennis champion who was the top player for 160 consecutive weeks from July of 1974 to August of 1977. on Monday at the Countrywide Classic The Countrywide Classic (formerly known as the Mercedes-Benz Cup) is a tennis tournament on the ATP Tour International Series held in Los Angeles, California, United States. . Roddick said he first contacted Connors after a first-round loss at the French Open in May. ``I was kind of sitting around my room, thinking things over,'' Roddick said. ``I've always admired Jimmy. He had actually been pretty supportive of me publicly before. I figured, worst-case scenario worst-case scenario n → Schlimmstfallszenario nt he would say `No thanks' and I wouldn't be any more worse off.'' They met two weeks ago at Connors' home in Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. for a trial run. Roddick took what he learned and applied it last week in Indianapolis, making his first final of the year to solidify the relationship. ``He does so many things well that it's not major surgery here,'' Connors said. ``I would like to try to give him a little bit of what made me what I was, and I think that he is able to suck that up like a sponge, and he's proven that already. ``It's not always in your game; it's the intangibles that could make the difference here.'' Connors is Roddick's fourth coach in less than two years, since he fired Brad Gilbert Brad Gilbert (born August 9, 1961) is an American tennis coach, a television tennis commentator, and former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was World # 4, which he reached in January 1990. Gilbert was ranked in the top 10 in the U.S. at the end of 2004. He fired Dean Goldfine in February and was coached by his older brother, John, for the past few months. Connors has no coaching experience, but he is a proven winner. The former UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX player won eight Grand Slam singles titles. Roddick, who fell out of the top 10 earlier this month for the first time since 2002, has one Grand Slam title -- the 2003 U.S. Open. ``It means a lot when someone who has won as many tennis championships as Jimmy comes through and says, `I believe in you and I think you can do some great things, and here's how,' '' Roddick said. ``I'm pretty excited that I get to pick his brain on a more regular basis.'' |
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