Andy Roddick candidly admitted that “a chucker like me” did not have sufficient to essentially threaten Roger Federer, who “fully remodeled tennis” together with his recreation and astonishing expertise.
Within the 2000s, the American was extensively thought to be probably the greatest 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 reputable because the former world No. 1 had a tailored recreation for sooner courts and he reached one other US Open ultimate in 2006 and in addition 3 times got here one win away from successful Wimbledon (2004, 2005, 2009).
However there was additionally Federer and he was the only motive why Roddick completed with just one Slam – the legendary Swiss beat the American in all of these 4 finals talked about above. Ultimately, the previous 20-time Main successful ended up successful 21 of their 24 matches and he additionally triumphed in all of their eight Slam conferences.
After shedding to Federer 4 instances, Roddick lastly claimed his first victory on the 2003 Canadian Masters. However then, he went 5 years with out a win earlier than snapping an 11-match shedding 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 right prototype of a participant to even hassle Roger a bit of. Chuckers like me definitely 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 rapidly it made tennis attention-grabbing once more. Roger fully remodeled tennis together with his capability to create spin, and energy, and pace, after which rapidly you set all of these issues collectively,” the previous world No. 1 mentioned on the Served with Andy Roddick.
As if coping with Federer wasn’t sufficient, then got here one other main expertise on the scene – Nadal. Whereas Roddick completed on the successful aspect of their first assembly and was cut up with the Spaniard after their 4 conferences, he did not have a lot success afterward as Nadal gained 5 of their final six matches to enhance to a 7-3 head-to-head.
However the Spanish tennis icon did not end with a optimistic file solely towards the American as he additionally had a successful components for the Swiss and gained 24 of their 40 matchups.
“Then we had one other cyborg [Rafa] that got here by, he might create extra distance between opponents and swap instructions higher than anybody ever, it was simply an interesting time. I did not really feel like a participant extra like a fan while I used to be enjoying,” the 2003 US Open champ added.
Roddick funnily revealed one factor about Federer that ‘drove me loopy’
A few months in the past, the American tennis legend mentioned he was by no means somebody who was jealous of others. However there was one factor in regards to the Swiss that completely drove him nuts – how calm and chill he was. Whereas he would really feel anxious and tense earlier than their Slam finals and conferences, the previous 20-time Main winner casually went about his enterprise.
“I don’t have plenty of regrets. I do not envy individuals for his or her successes. I’m more than pleased that these three have gained all the tournaments that they’ve gained. I used to be very jealous and nonetheless jealous of Roger as a result of he was the man I performed most within the greatest matches. Simply because we had been good on the identical surfaces on the similar time was his ease of operation, it simply drove me loopy. As a result of I might see him on the Saturday earlier than Grand Slam shedding to some chucker on our follow court docket and I walked by and he was smiling, laughing,” Roddick mentioned on his podcast three months in the past.
Roddick admitted he needed 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 present up on the monitor each morning like, ‘F Roger!’ To me it was just like the sky. You’re not at all times taking a look at it, however it’s there,” he mentioned on the time.
After struggling a four-set loss within the 2004 Wimbledon ultimate, Roddick misplaced in straight units within the ultimate following yr. 4 years later occurred that thriller 2009 ultimate at The Championships, which Federer gained 5-7 7-6 (6) 7-6 (5) 3-6 16-14,
“Had I gained Wimbledon, I don’t assume I’d have one single remorse. I’m not upset I didn’t win ten slams. I’m upset I didn’t win Wimbledon. You’ll be able to have seven of ’em. I simply needed one,” Roddick mentioned in the identical interview with GQ.
