AEGON Championships Betting / Simon Mundie / 09 June 2008 /

Simon Mundie thinks the big serving American is a good bet to take his fourth Artois title

One man who is certainly glad the clay court season is over for another year is American no. 1 Andy Roddick. Despite recording his best ever result on the red stuff in Rome, his game is far better suited to the grasscourts of Queen's. Roddick will never be considered a genuine contender for the second Grand Slam of the year in Paris; his weapons are blunted and his weaknesses exposed. So as the action moves to the slick surface of Barons Court, he can breathe a mighty sigh of relief.

The Nebraskan world no. 6 has a superb record at the Artois, where this year his is at [5.6]. He's won four singles titles here, equalling such grasscourt greats as John McEnroe and Boris Becker. If he wins this year, he will become the tournaments most successful player. And win it he should.

In this era dominated by Federer, Nadal and now Djokovic, it is easy to forget that Roddick was once considered Federer's main rival for the top spot in World tennis. He's still there or thereabouts, but his days as a genuine contender for no.1 are generally accepted to have passed. And yet this year, Roddick has played as well as he has since those heady days when he won the US Open in 2003. He's won two titles, in Dubai and San Jose; but more importantly he's recorded victories over Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and his nemesis Roger Federer. And this week he'll be looking to prove that on the right surface, he is certainly worth a flutter.

Roddick's game is built around his devastating serve- the quickest the game has ever seen. And the way the courts at the Artois play, it only accentuates this advantage for Roddick. That's because while the courts at Wimbledon have been slowed down to encourage more rallies, no such action has ever been taken at the Artois, so they play into Roddick's hands more than anywhere else in the world. He can then back it up with his powerfully hit forehand and much improved backhand, and with his serve proving nigh on impossible to break he can afford to take a few more risks on the return; a luxury few other players can afford.

But it's not just the quickness of the courts that will make Roddick such a formidable opponent this week. He loves returning here year after year, as this is where he proved himself to be one of the world's best back in 2003. He took the title here for the first time that year, before reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon, winning the US Open and finishing the year as World no. 1. He loves the surroundings, admitting that his stay in London is one of the highlights of his year off the court, and the crowds appreciate his outgoing personality as much as anywhere outside of the States. Plus of course he's just grateful that the long hard slog of the European clay court is over for another year.

Perhaps the biggest boost for Roddick heading into the Artois this year is his victory over Roger Federer earlier in the year at the Masters Series event in Miami. The ease with which Federer has disposed of Roddick in recent years has been a cross to bear, which is why the Miami win is so important to him. It's given Roddick a spring in his step and provided a marked boost to his self confidence. Plus he now knows that he can win any tournament with or without the World no. 1.

Roddick won't have to face The Swiss maestro until Wimbledon at the earliest, but he will have to come through an incredibly tough field to add a fifth Artois title. That includes the winners of both of this years Grand Slam tournaments to date- Novak Djokovic [3.45] and Rafael Nadal [5.5]. Roddick has beaten both players in their only meetings of 2008 in straight sets, and should beat both of them again should he have to face them on the quicker grasscourts of Queens. Furthermore, Nadal and Djokovic have had less time to acclimatise to the grass because of their French Open exploits than Roddick, whose injury in Rome, and subsequent withdrawal for the French Open, has allowed him to spend more time honing his grasscourt game.

But who else could derail Roddick's bid for a record fifth? Well of course there's the great British hope Andy Murray [9.8], whose form has been patchy at best this year, and whose record at Barons Court is less than impressive. Then there's Roddick's fellow four times Champion LLeyton Hewitt [17], but he's hardly the force of old; and David Nalbandian [25] who appears to have slipped into another one of the slumps that have punctuated his career. But while any of the players I have mentioned could take the Artois title this year, one man should be accepted as the favourite to haul the aloft that huge trophy next Sunday, and that man is Andy Roddick.

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