Andy Roddick candidly admitted that “a chucker like me” did not have sufficient to essentially threaten Roger Federer, who “completely transformed tennis” together with his recreation and astonishing expertise.
Within the 2000s, the American was broadly thought to be among the finest gamers within the recreation and the expectation was that he would win a number of Grand Slams after changing into a Main champion on the 2003 US Open. And that prediction was legit for the reason that former world No. 1 had a tailored recreation for quicker courts and he reached one other US Open closing in 2006 and likewise thrice got here one win away from profitable Wimbledon (2004, 2005, 2009).
However there was additionally Federer and he was the only real cause why Roddick completed with just one Slam – the legendary Swiss beat the American in all of these 4 finals talked about above. In the long run, the previous 20-time Main profitable ended up profitable 21 of their 24 matches and he additionally triumphed in all of their eight Slam conferences.
After dropping to Federer 4 instances, Roddick lastly claimed his first victory on the 2003 Canadian Masters. However then, he went 5 years and not using a win earlier than snapping an 11-match dropping streak versus the Swiss on the 2008 Miami Masters. Within the subsequent 4 years, the American misplaced six instances earlier than triumphing of their final matchup in 2012 Miami.
“It took the proper prototype of a participant to even hassle Roger slightly. Chuckers like me actually weren’t doing it, however you create a prototype of somebody who’s quick, sturdy, and may discover the one pocket up and away on Roger, and impulsively it made tennis fascinating once more. Roger fully reworked tennis together with his capability to create spin, and energy, and pace, after which impulsively you set all of these issues collectively,” the former world No. 1 said on the Served with Andy Roddick.
Andy Roddick and Roger Federer© YouTube screenshot
As if dealing with Federer wasn’t enough, then came another major talent on the scene – Nadal. While Roddick finished on the winning side in their first meeting and was split with the Spaniard after their four meetings, he didn’t have much success later on as Nadal won five of their last six matches to improve to a 7-3 head-to-head.
But the Spanish tennis icon didn’t finish with a positive record only against the American as he also had a winning formula for the Swiss and won 24 of their 40 matchups.
“Then we had one other cyborg [Rafa] that got here by way of, he might create extra distance between opponents and swap instructions higher than anybody ever, it was simply a captivating time. I did not really feel like a participant extra like a fan while I used to be taking part in,” the 2003 US Open champ added.
Roddick funnily revealed one thing about Federer that ‘drove me crazy’
A couple of months ago, the American tennis legend said he was never someone who was jealous of others. But there was one thing about the Swiss that absolutely drove him nuts – how calm and chill he was. While he would feel anxious and tense before their Slam finals and meetings, the former 20-time Major winner casually went about his business.
“I don’t have a lot of regrets. I don’t envy people for their successes. I am more than happy that these three have won all of the tournaments that they’ve won. I was very jealous and still jealous of Roger because he was the guy I played most in the biggest matches. Just because we were good on the same surfaces at the same time was his ease of operation, it just drove me crazy. Because I could see him on the Saturday before Grand Slam losing to some chucker on our practice court and I walked by and he was smiling, laughing,” Roddick stated on his podcast three months in the past.
Roddick admitted he wished only one Wimbledon title
Final yr, the 42-year-old instructed GQ journal that he “loves Roger” and that he by no means disliked the Swiss simply because he was dominating him.
“I didn’t show up at the track every morning like, ‘F Roger!’ To me it was like the sky. You’re not always looking at it, but you know it’s there,” he stated on the time.
After struggling a four-set loss within the 2004 Wimbledon closing, Roddick misplaced in straight units within the closing following yr. 4 years later occurred that thriller 2009 closing at The Championships, which Federer gained 5-7 7-6 (6) 7-6 (5) 3-6 16-14,
“Had I won Wimbledon, I don’t think I would have one single regret. I’m not disappointed I didn’t win ten slams. I’m disappointed I didn’t win Wimbledon. You can have seven of ’em. I just wanted one,” Roddick stated in the identical interview with GQ.
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Publish date : 2024-12-05 02:23:10
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