Former world number one Andy Roddick has heaped praises on Serena Williams, regarding her as one of the greatest athlete of all time.
Roddick compared the American tennis star to the likes of boxing legend Muhammad Ali and Basketball retired star Michael Jordan.
Serena breezed to the finals of the 2017 Australian Open, defeating her sister 6-4, 6-4 to lift the title for the seventh time – a record time in the Grand Slam tournament. Her victory helped her move past Steffi Graf for the most Grand Slam titles in the open era.
The 35-year old relentless star overtook former world number one Angelique Kerber as she sailed to her 23rd Slam. She is just one shy of equalling Margaret Court’s 24 Grand Slam record – the most titles by a single player in the history of the sport.
“It’s amazing. I’ve known Serena since we were 8 or 9 years old. To see her go from the girl I used to practise next to all the time to become this icon – and not just one of the greatest women athletes of all time, but one of the greatest athlete of all time, it’s amazing,” Roddick said in his interview with ESPN. Read more »
Andy Roddick reckons that by performing so consistently in the ongoing season, Roger Federer has proved again that he is the greatest individual who has ever played the game of tennis.
Federer has had a belter of a season this year. He has made a steep jump in the rankings. He is world no. 2 right now.
He might have topped the rankings as well last week if he had not lost in the quarters in the masters in Paris.
According to Roddick, for somebody to be able to make such a comeback in the twilight of his career, it takes a lot of mental strength.
Speaking on a television channel last night, Roddick said, “It’s just unbelievable, the way Roger has competed on the tour this season. But, honestly speaking, it has not taken me by surprise at all. He is such a mentally strong character that nothing is impossible for him.”
When asked if he reckons Federer is the greatest ever, the American legend said, “Yes definitely. He comes first in my list. I know some people talk about his head-to-head record against Rafa, but, that doesn’t matter. It’s not about your record against a particular player. It’s your overall performance which counts.”
“The day Rafa gets levelled up with Roger in terms of the no. of Grand Slam titles, then, you can have a look at the head-to-head record and of course, Rafa leads there. But, for now, I would say Roger is better simply because of the no. of majors he has under his belt.”
Roddick himself has also been the world no. 1. He could not win that many Grand Slams though in his career. His only slam glory came at Flushing Meadows in front of his own people in 2003.
Andy Roddick’s countryman, Ryan Harrison, had a horrible season in 2013. He lost almost 65% of the matches that he played during the season and he moved down all the way to no. 100 in the world rankings. But, he hasn’t got demoralized by that. He is full of confidence ahead of the 2014 season and he is aiming to make his way into top 10 in the world rankings.
Harrison had burst onto the scene 3 years back in 2010 and he had impressed the pundits with his performance in his debut season. People started considering him a bright prospect and backed him to move up in the world rankings pretty quickly. They were not wrong. Harrison did move up in the rankings in his first couple of seasons. When the 2012 season finished, he was the 43rd ranked player in the world. But, in the last season, his game deteriorated considerably.
However, Harrison’s supporters still have no doubt about his potential. They believe that the last season was just an aberration and he will bounce back in 2014.
Harrison would be aware of the fact that to prove his supporters right, he will have to make big improvements in his game. He can’t keep playing the way he played in the last season.
Talking to the reporters about the 2014 season, the American player said, “It’s going to be a very important year for me. I want to show the world that I have got the ability to perform well consistently at this level and 2013 was just an aberration.”
“I want to get into the top 10. That’s the ultimate goal and I know I need to be consistent to achieve that goal.”
The good thing for Harrison is that he is just 21 at this point of time and he has got a lot of tennis ahead of him.
Andy Roddick’s compatriot, John Isner, has defeated Kevin Anderson of South Africa in the final of BB&T Atlanta Open. Isner won the match in three sets by 6-7(3), 7-6(2), 7-6(2).
This is the 7th ATP title won by Isner in his career. With this win, he earned himself prize money of 98,700 US Dollars.
This win didn’t come easily for Isner. He was made to work hard for each and every point by Anderson who was given the second seed in this tournament. The match went on for 2 hours and 54 minutes.
Talking to the reporters after the match, Isner said, “I have lost so many close finals in the past. So, it’s quite satisfying to end up on the winning side this time around. I never got panicked. I always had that self belief that I could pull it off.”
On the other hand, Anderson was perplexed in the post match interview. The South African player said, “I lost my composure towards the end of the match. It was so close and if I had cashed on the chances in the third set tie breaker, the result could have been different.”
“I congratulate John for winning the title. He hung in there and played well during the crucial moments. He deserved the win.”
It was a strange sort of a match. Neither of the two players dropped his serve in the entire match and all the three sets went into the tie breaker.
The tie breakers were pretty one sided though. The first one of them was dominated by Anderson, while, in the next two, it was Isner who came on top.
This was the 10th match between these two players and Isner defeated Anderson for the 6th time.
Andy Roddick has defeated the British superstar Andy Murray in a Miami Tennis Cup match on Saturday. Roddick won the match in the straight sets by 6-2, 6-3. With this victory, Roddick has made his way into the finals where he will take on Nicolas Almagro of Spain.
Murray who is currently the no. 3 player in the world had come into this match as favourite, but, he was thrashed by the recently retired American veteran.
Roddick kept Murray under pressure throughout the match and never let him settle down. He broke Murray’s service twice in the first set and won it comfortably by 6-2.
The second set was a bit more competitive. The first seven games of the second set went with the serve and Roddick was ahead by 4-3 at the end of the seventh game. Murray didn’t manage to hold his service in the eighth game and got trailed by 3-5. Roddick served out the next game easily and wrapped up the match.
In the post match interview, Murray said, “Roddick is still a wonderful player. It’s not easy to compete against him when he is in this kind of form. He served beautifully and was better than me today.”
“I was surprised when Roddick announced his retirement. I believe there is still a lot of tennis left in him. He can still perform well at the highest level.”
On the other hand, Roddick looked quite happy after securing victory in the match. He said, “I really admire Murray as a player. He is one of the best in the world at the moment. Before the match, I hadn’t thought that I would win the match this easily. But, fortunately, he was not at his best today which made the life easier for me.”
Andy Roddick has been defeated by Steve Darcis of Belgium in the third round of the Winston Salem Open. Darcis won the match in the straight sets by 7-6(6), 7-6(3). Roddick, who has been given 5th seed in this competition, made Darcis work hard for each and every point. But, the Belgian player held his nerves in both the tie breakers and stopped Roddick from going further into the tournament. Roddick was very good on his service and smashed 8 aces in the match. But, He didn’t manage to play the return shots well.
Both the players played well in the first set. There was no breakthrough in the first 12 games and the scores were tied at 6-6. The set went into the tie breaker in which the Belgian player proved to be a bit better than Roddick. The story of the second set is not different from the first one. Both the players held their entire serves in the second set as well. Roddick had got a breakpoint in the second set, but, he wasn’t able to capitalize on that. Roddick failed to deliver in the tie breaker again and allowed Darcis to run away with the game.
In the post match interview, Roddick said that he is satisfied with the way he served in the match, but, he didn’t play his backhand shots well which proved to be costly. On the other hand, Darcis, who secured a berth in the quarterfinals with this victory, was delighted after defeating Roddick. Darcis said that he tried to play with aggression right from the start and that paid off. In the quarter final, Darcis will play against Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic who cruised into the quarterfinals with an easy victory over Jarkko Nieminen.