“I didn’t have the upside of a lot of the guys I was playing against…For me it was just a matter of survival.” 💪 @andyroddick | #TCLive
"I was pretty good at winning sh*tty matches" Andy Roddick speaks on unique skill set that attributed to his success
ATPSaturday, 16 April 2022 at 11:42
Former World No.1 Andy Roddick may have hung up his racket in 2012, but the American holds the distinction of being one of the few men to win a Grand Slam title during the rise of the Big Three.
Roddick's big serve and counter-punching game allowed him to defeat some of the top players of his era, and the 2003 US Open champion opened up about a unique skill set that allowed him to succeed and win several of his matches.
"I didn’t have the upside of a lot of the guys I was playing against," Roddick said in an appearance on Tennis Channel. "So, I was pretty good at winning sh*tty matches. I felt like that was a skill set.”
During his 12-year-long career, Roddick played a total of 825 matches, out of which he won 612. During the interview, the Omaha native opened up about playing easy opponents. He asserted that he didn’t have the upside of the opponents he played against, but stated it takes a certain skill to win against such players.
"What I always did, it was less like I could play badly and feel like I was supremely confident," revealed the 39-year old. "What I did was it gave me an opportunity.”
Recalling how he used to win the later rounds of a tournament, Andy said, “When you are in the semis, you’re playing someone good enough where you’re gonna kind of let it rip with this little bit of wind in your bag. So for me, it was just a matter of survival. I felt really good if I could kind of make a habit of winning with my crappy stuff.”
Roddick retired in 2012 with a total of 32 ATP singles titles, and was later enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2017.
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