"Don't lecture someone when you've been the queen of drama for years": Andy Roddick praises Taylor Townsend for dealing with Ostapenko situation

Andy Roddick has settled into his role behind the mic at the U.S. Open, but the former champion admitted his “Quick Serve” series didn’t get off to the smoothest start.

Roddick though in his US Open round-up discussed Djokovic, Tiafoe, Rybakina, Raducanu, Pegula and touched upon the Ostapenko v Townsend drama praising the American for how she dealt with it on his podcast Served.

“I overslept,” he laughed. “I hadn’t slept through an alarm in ten years. Normally, I wake up early—early, early. That morning, Techie Sean was already downstairs ready to shoot Quick Serve. I messed everything up. Honestly, it wasn’t my best effort, Mike.”

After producer Mike revealed he knew something was wrong when Roddick didn’t reply to a coffee text—“the answer is always yes”—the American assured fans: “Next time, just show up with coffee. I’ll always be happy to receive it.” Once awake and courtside, Roddick turned his attention to the action on day three in New York.

Novak Djokovic advanced past American Zach Svajda in four sets, but Roddick wasn’t convinced by the performance. “First round he looked like he was searching for air. He even admitted that,” Roddick said. “You play Wimbledon, then nothing until the U.S. Open—it’s tricky. For anyone else, making the third round wouldn’t be nitpicked. But Novak has 24 majors. When he doesn’t look like peak Novak, we notice.”

Roddick compared Djokovic’s situation to Serena Williams’ ability to play herself into form during Grand Slams. “There’s gym shape, there’s practice shape, and then there’s stress-testing those 20-ball rallies under pressure. He hasn’t hit that yet. If anyone else can do it, it’s Novak. But he’ll have to figure it out quickly.”

The Serbian now faces Cam Norrie, a matchup Roddick believes could be intriguing. “Cam’s one of the fittest guys on tour. He even talks about how he takes in more air than us mortals. He’ll run forever. If you’re Cam, you’re thinking, ‘Okay, Novak’s looked a little shaky, maybe there’s a chance.’ But let’s be real—you’re still picking Novak straight up.”

Taylor Fritz also booked his place in round three, beating Lloyd Harris in four sets. The performance was far from perfect, but Roddick said that was part of Fritz’s strength. “Fritz didn’t look good. He even admitted in press that conditions on Armstrong were tough with the wind. But here’s the thing: Fritz doesn’t get enough credit for being such a competitor,” Roddick explained.

“Last year he said the biggest confidence he took from making the U.S. Open final was that he didn’t feel he’d played extremely well—his ‘B’ level is just really good now. Today might have been a C-level, but he battled. Lost the first, scraped a breaker, and still pulled it out. That’s what the best do—survive until they find form.”

Roddick even drew parallels with his own career. “Honestly, I only played really well 10–15% of the year. Twenty percent I was awful. But I could drag people into the gutter with me when I was bad. The middle ground is what makes top-10 guys so tough—they manage matches. I was elite at serving and match management. Lots I wasn’t good at, but those I had.”

On the women’s side, Jessica Pegula impressed Roddick with a comfortable win over Anna Blinkova. “She hasn’t looked great this summer. Now she plays Azarenka—two-time Grand Slam champion, former world No. 1. That’s got night session written all over it.”

Emma Raducanu continued her resurgence, advancing to the third round with ease. “She hadn’t won a U.S. Open match since she won the tournament in 2021. She’s spent barely two hours on court so far—feels a lot like 2021,” Roddick said.

Emma Navarro also drew high praise after dismantling Caty McNally 6–1, 6–2. “She looked in complete flow state—big turnaround after a nervy first round.”

Frances Tiafoe made light work of teenager Martin Damm, with Roddick noting the tactical sharpness in his return game. “Foe’s short swings on return really neutralised the big lefty serve. Smart match.”

Meanwhile, João Fonseca exited the tournament, but Roddick came away impressed with the 19-year-old Brazilian. “I played with him at ‘Stars of the Open’ the other night. Great kid, respectful, huge upside. I’m buying long-term stock in him.”

Elsewhere, Elena Rybakina looked sharp and Casper Ruud fell in five, leaving Roddick concerned about the Norwegian’s form. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard also suffered an upset defeat to compatriot Ugo Blanchet, who had only one tour-level win before the match.

“That’s a big disappointment for Mpetshi if he wants top-10 status,” Roddick said.

One man who earned Roddick’s respect, however, was Benjamin Bonzi. “Back-to-back five-setters, including the Medvedev match. That’s brutal physically and mentally, but he survived.”

Roddick reserved his “Meddy Meltdown of the Day” for Jelena Ostapenko after her heated exit against Taylor Townsend.

“She lectured Taylor about class after losing, saying she had no class and was uneducated. Come on. Ostapenko lecturing anyone on sportsmanship is like me lecturing someone about not wearing black. Complete hypocrisy,” Roddick said.

Townsend, he added, handled it perfectly: “She said, ‘I beat her in Canada, too.’ Loved that response.”

And as someone who admitted to having plenty of blow-ups himself, Roddick added with a grin: “Listen, I like meltdowns. They’re entertaining. I melted down plenty. But don’t lecture someone else when you’ve been the queen of drama for years.”