Andy Roddick looks to continue his fine record against Feliciano Lopez in the third round of Wimbledon today.
The three-time Wimbledon finalist has made fairly serene progress to this stage of the tournament seeing off qualifier Andreas Beck and Victor Hanescu with few problems. Roddick's serve has been virtually unbreakable so far, yielding 45 aces over just 6 sets which bodes very well for the latter stages of the tournament.
When Roddick first came on the tour, many people that his career would be shortened by the sheer amount of strain his body puts on his serve and after beating Hanescu, Roddick explained how he took steps to counter that from early on.
"I hired my trainer, Doug, at a young age before it was like the thing to do. You know, I think I was 20, 21 and had someone full time. Every match we ice it, we work on it. It still feels good. I had a couple little blips. But considering the popular prediction back in 2001 when I was first here, I feel like I've gotten you guys by about seven or eight years now !" he joked.
Lopez is a fine grass-courter and has made the Wimbledon quarter-finals twice in his career but unfortunately for him, he's always been Roddick's bunny. The American has won all seven of their matches and edged their second round clash at Queens two weeks ago 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, after being a break down in the deciding set.
Lopez has dropped one set so far, needing four sets to get past former semi-finalist Rainer Schuettler in the last round.
This match will inevitably come down to a few points here or there. Both men have such formidable serves and weapons to back it up that breaks will be few and far between. However Roddick's superior returning ability should make a difference on the big points.
Prediction: Roddick in four
