'Master of under promising and over delivering' Rafael Nadal Roland Garros participation comments not believed by Andy Roddick
ATP
Rafael Nadal's comments about making a decision after the Rome Open about playing Roland Garros are not believed in the slightest by his former rival, Andy Roddick.
Roddick on the latest episode of Served called the Spaniard the master of 'under promising and over delivering' and said that it is a trope that he has had over the course of his career. He reached the fourth round of the Madrid Open but still threw his participation in doubt.
“I don’t know what can happen, but now I have four games in Madrid behind me. This is the reality. Today I was more muscularly tired, yes, but it is nothing serious,” explained the 22-time Grand Slam champion in a press conference.
“I have endured several hours of competition at the highest possible level, and that’s the most important thing. At the tennis level, I also leave happier than I arrived, although if I don’t have the confidence that my body can handle tennis, it’s impossible for this to work.
“At the beginning of the tournament [in Madrid], he said, ‘If I feel the way that I feel physically right now with confidence, not knowing what I have, I don’t know if I’ll play Roland Garros" said the former World No.1.
“I tend to not believe that. I think he’s the master of under promising and over delivering. During his prime, he’d be going into like the first round of Roland Garros against someone ranked like 70 in the world and be like, ‘I don’t know, it could go either way.’
“I used to not really believe that. I honestly think he just works from a place of, ‘This could go wrong, I’m going to hustle my way to make it not so and give my best effort.'”
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Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
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