“That’s something I’ve definitely tried to work on,” Roddick confirmed. “Two years ago I just ripped every serve and I got broken a lot more. I’m trying to give them the option that they don’t know whether to guard against a really big serve, or maybe I’ll throw in a 110 mph kick out wide or something. The more options I give them, I think the tougher it is to return.”Having played Roddick seven times, Blake noted that his rival’s mental approach to the game had improved. “I think there has been a big change mentally,” Roddick agreed.

“I’m not getting so pissed off on the court – excuse my language, but it’s true I’m keeping more of an even keel.”Experience plays a factor I’ve been out here for two and a half years now My demeanour on court has improved. I’m staying pretty calm, and that’s allowing me to think clearly.”It was suggested to Roddick that crowds so much want him to win that they rarely root for the underdog in his matches (unless Roddick happens to be the underdog). “I think that has a lot to do with playing in the States,” he replied. “If I’m watching an Olympic race, and it’s a long race, I don’t want to see someone come back and have a photo finish if an American can win a gold medal straight out.”Ah, yes, the killer instinct.. Venus Williams, the 2001 and 2000 US Open champion, has withdrawn from this year’s tournament with a persistent stomach muscle injury.

Serena withdrew after undergoing knee surgery.Venus sustained the injury at a tournament in Poland in April and was troubled by it at the French Open in June. She played at Wimbledon, but needed treatment to the injury in the final, which she lost to Serena.. Was it my imagination, or did Paul Butler’s face fall when I burst into the bar of Plas Bodegroes, still steaming from a seven-hour car journey and smelling slightly of baby sick? “Do you want to go up and change?” he suggested gallantly. “You’ve only just arrived.” Well, not quite; I already had changed, and this was as good as it got. The venue, on the other hand, was as special as they come; Plas Bodegroes holds a Michelin star, and is currently the Good Food Guide’s Wales Restaurant of the Year.A handsome Georgian manor house with a wisteria-heavy veranda, it also prides itself on being “one of Britain’s most romantic hideaways”. Something I hadn’t realised when I suggested it to Paul, who lives an hour or so away Nor did I know that lunch is only served on Sundays.

Which is how “lunch at a new eatery” turned into dinner and an overnight stay, thereby confirming my mother’s worst fears; I’m spending the night in a hotel with a man who’s paying for my company.Sipping our aperitifs in a honeysuckle-scented bower, surrounded by heart-shaped flowerbeds, Paul and I attempted to make non-romantic conversation. Harder to ignore were the regular background appearances of a naked toddler, with a disgruntled man who was trying to scrub sick off a child car seat.Paul, as you’d expect of an Independent reader, proved to be an intriguing chap, who’d given up a high-flying London career to read Ocean Science at Bangor University. As we chatted, it was clear he had more hinterland than Russia. In fact the only thing he didn’t seem particularly interested in was restaurants, yelping, “Oh God! You don’t want me to talk about the food, do you?” when he learned he’d be taking part in the review process.Plas Bodegroes calls itself a “restaurant with rooms” rather than a hotel, and the lounge area and bar are decidedly snug. But the dining room is airy and, with its pale wooden floor and duck-egg blue walls, coolly Scandinavian.Paul made a valiant attempt to get into the critical spirit, offering “It’s a nice ambience, isn’t it? Plenty of room for the tables.” But his heart obviously wasn’t in it, and he looked appalled when I launched into a diatribe about the artwork, (a smorgasbord of hideous paintings and sinister knick-knacks), rather than just relaxing and enjoying a nice dinner.Chris Chown’s menu boasts more local produce than Royston Vasey’s village shop, and several classic dishes are given a Welsh twist. Our appetisers, for example, salmon in puff pastry with a dill and mustard sauce, also contained laverbread. Now you’d think that between an oceanographer and a restaurant critic, one of us would have known that laverbread was a Welsh seaweed.