Submitted by B. Sullivan, Apr 7, 2007 22:26

You make great play of Roddick's commitment, and imply that Federer doesn't have it. I wish you'd publish these facts.

He played DC from 1999 when he was aged 17, made 31 appearances, and in all the ties except one (his first) played both singles and doubles. In Singles his record is W 22 L 6, and in Doubles Won 9 L 4. This was 5 straight years right through to the end of 2004. In 2005 he took the decision that he could no longer carry the team on his own (having earned them the 3 points on most occasions) as he was focusing on retaining his #1 ranking and going deep into GS etc. and winning them was exhausting enough. The Swiss Federation accepted this, and he has made himself available for any play off tie in September, which he has honoured.

Roddick has the luxury of a separate Doubles team, and colleagues who can also get a point. One could also add that Roddick's likelihood of winning another GS is remote, so no wonder he focuses on a DC win. No reason, though, for a snide comment about Federer who is now 25. Nadal, on the other hand is only 20 - a bit soon to be opting out, don't you think?

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