Santoro was so upset that he refused to play the final point, and he had harsh words for Roddick after the match.
Santoro said:
"The match was over. I was a little bit disappointed with the way he served the point before....Roddick said he wasn't trying to hit Santoro, and I believe him. Furthermore, I think it's bush league of Santoro to refuse to contest the final point. Roddick comes out of this little controversy looking a lot better than Santoro does, and not just because he won the match."He served straight at me for sure," Santoro said. "That's a good strategy during the match, but it was almost over. He realized it was kind of a mistake." When told Roddick said he was aiming for the T, Santoro said, "Then it was the biggest mistake of his life. When he serves for the T, he gets the T."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-28-2008 @ 1:45PM
David said...
The serve was in, right? How can an opponent complain about a serve that was in? I wouldn't have a problem with Roddick even if he was aiming at the opponent, as long as he serves in. Just sounds like he made a good serve. Is this tennis protocol, that you only serve to certain areas of the court?
Also, the match was "almost" over. Until it is over, Roddick should try to win every point. If Santoro thought he was going to lose, maybe he should have just forfeited and saved everyone some time.
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9-08-2008 @ 3:09PM
Pablo said...
David, it's not about rules but about manners between athletes. He wasn't complaining about the correctness of the serve.
Did you see clip? Santoro just dodges the ball as anyone would do, and then looks at Roddick waiting for an apologize that never came back: Roddick just looks down and gets ready for his next serve instead. Then Santoro obviously nods like saying "so that's what you have: a good serve but no respect. Well, I'll make you know how it feels". So he just doesn't move at all against last Roddick's serve even if it's against the rules. If Santoro's reaction is far too sensitive for you, then you must be one of those S. Williams fans who are in favour of her whisper calling Henin a "bitch" on court.
That's why, when you say "how can an opponent complain about a serve that was in?", my answer would be "yes, he was complaining about a serve that was in but almost hit him. Not so perfect, is it?".
But after all it's your U.S. Open so I guess you're siding with the American player is just natural.
8-28-2008 @ 12:20PM
~AD said...
You really believe Roddick on this one? Really?! I have to side with Santoro on this one, Roddick's move was bush. That being said, refusing to play the final point is weak as well.
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8-28-2008 @ 1:48PM
ChrisPowers said...
Watch a better video than this one. Santoro moves into the serve after the ball's already in the air. Last Roddick sees, he's serving well to the right of Santoro. The guy moves after Roddick's release, and that's supposed to be intentional? Absurd.
8-28-2008 @ 12:41PM
Frederick said...
Andy should try that more often if it works lol
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8-28-2008 @ 1:56PM
CD said...
Why would Roddick deliberately try to hit a 35 year old man when he was serving for the match? Santoro sounds like a cry baby. He was completely demoralised by Roddick's serve the entire match. Body serving is legal in tennis so Roddick should not have to apologize to the French sore loser.
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9-08-2008 @ 2:53PM
Pablo said...
When you say "why would Roddick deliberately hit a 35-YEAR-OLD MAN when he..." you're just trying to make Santoro look pathetic and you aren't giving any argument. Santoro is known for never sulk at a match even if he's being owned. So Santoro was just complaining about Roddick rudeness for not apologizing properly. It doesn't matter if Santoro's guess was wrong. You mean if the ball had hit him that would've been all right?
8-29-2008 @ 9:24AM
David said...
There is no rule against utilizing a body serve - even at 140 mph - in a tennis match, but to employ such a tactic at 6-2 6-2 5-2 30-love shows a complete lack of proportion and sensibility. Why not let Fabrice display some of his prodigious magic on his last appearance on center court? To his credit Roger let him play in '06 once the match was won, and provided not only some great entertainment for the crowd, but also got a few grins himself. It's hard to fathom what Roddick was thinking unleashing his caveman serve at that stage of the match. Impressed? NO. I hope Ernests will trim his ego down to a more appropriate size in the next round.
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9-08-2008 @ 3:14PM
Pablo said...
My conclusion is Santoro was disappointed rather than just upset. He's known for his cheery character and deserves respect from everyone for the great show he gives us.
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9-24-2008 @ 8:20PM
BF said...
Interesting comments. I know it's been a while since this happened, but if you watch closely, Santoro split steps and moves into the path of the ball. He anticipated, and anticipated wrong.
Also, I grew up playing, and one of the most effective service techniques is serving a hard, flat serve into the body. It's actually a strategy. It's not against edicate at all.
Someone mentioned letting Santoro display more of his shotmaking, etc. etc. on his last appearance on center court??? HUH?????? Since when do you allow an opponent to stay in a point, or have a greater chance of winning a point, or otherwise make it easier for him because he is retiring?!?!?
Not Roddick's responsibility nor Santoro's right. He got beaten and beaten badly. Take it like a pro, and wave to the crowd, sign some autographs, and ride off into the sunset.
Instead, Santoro walked straight off the court pouting, and refused to stick around for the interview, nor did he sign any autographs.
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9-25-2008 @ 12:29PM
Randy said...
Fabrice has nothing prove, he was hitting winners and being a gentleman when Roddick was loading ball machines at summer camp. Of active, ranked players, only The Roger, Moya, and Hewitt have more professional wins than Fabrice. And that was achieved with a two handed stroke on both sides!!
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