Isner believes Roddick's work ethic and fighting spirit brought him success: "He was an absolute bulldog"

ATP
Sunday, 27 August 2023 at 05:00
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John Isner highlighted Andy Roddick's strong efforts to become world No. 1 in a press conference at US Open
The 38-year-old American will play his final tournament as a professional at the 2023 US Open in front of his home crowd. Isner is concluding a 17-year career that has garnered significant media attention due to his impressive accomplishments.
During a press conference, Isner expressed his admiration for Andy Roddick and the passion he had throughout his career, which, as he mentioned, strongly influenced his development as a professional:
"I think just how hard he worked. I think he would admit, obviously he was talented, but I don't think he was the most talented guy, by any means, but he was an absolutely bulldog on the court, of course, but off the court in how he trained, how he took care of himself. One of the hardest workers I think this sport has ever seen," former world No. 8 said in a press conference.
"When I'm in college or high school, seeing him win the US Open, then come on tour with him, see how hard he worked, it definitely showed me that I had a long way to go just to try to match him because he was at the top of the top 10 forever, top 5 for a long time, too," Isner added.
“He just worked his ass off each and every day. Just watching that for me was very inspiring. If I wanted to be a top professional, I knew I had to at least try to do what he does," Isner concluded
On the other hand, Isner spoke about the 20 years that the American men's tennis has gone without winning the US Open title, with the last one being Andy Roddick himself. However, Isner expressed his belief that the negative streak could come to an end soon:
"I think American men's tennis is in a very good spot right now. I mean, who knows. Like, that could keep going because the No. 1 player is pretty good and very young.
“We have a lot of players that can definitely challenge for that Grand Slam,"
"I mean, heck, Frances was a set away from being in the finals last year, so... Just need things to fall into place for you throughout the course of two weeks. It's definitely possible. But we're in a good spot right now, I think,"

👋 John Isner, 38, will play one last time in front of his fans and say goodbye to professional tennis at the US Open. A last opportunity for "Big John" to improve his record of aces slammed on the main Tour (currently 14,411)! 💪

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