"She’s going to win a Grand Slam" - Andy Roddick heaps praise on 'tough' Amanda Anisimova

The US Open is about to hit its climax tonight with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz facing off in the men's final, as they compete for their second title at Flushing Meadows. On the women's side, Aryna Sabalenka has already wrapped up the title in a straight-set victory over Amanda Anisimova.

Ahead of the men's final, 2004 US Open champion Andy Roddick sat down on his podcast to review the events of the WTA final, whilst touching on what is bound to be another memorable and action-packed match between the two dominant forces in men's tennis.

Anisimova left Wimbledon for all the wrong headlines, despite reaching her first Grand Slam final, dispossessing the world number one along the way. A 6-0, 6-0 loss to Iga Swiatek was an embarrassing way to depart the competition, and a tough pill to swallow heading into the North American hardcourt swing. However, she has bounced back fantastically in New York, getting over her recent demons by overcoming Swiatek and reaching the final. Despite the loss, Roddick applauded the now-ranked number four in the world for bouncing back in fine fashion.

Speaking on the Quick Served Podcast, Roddick said: "She’s going to win a Grand Slam. No doubt. You feel for her though. I’ve been in that spot. I won my first Slam right away, so I never had the ‘Will he win one?’ question. Mine was, ‘Will he ever win one again?’ That’s its own pressure. But Anisimova’s tough. And then you look at Sabalenka—there’s real mental fortitude there. She’s the favorite, loses the French, favorite again, loses to Anisimova at Wimbledon. No. 1 in the world, she gets one more shot. That pressure’s rough.

"The shot that won it for her was amazing. Anisimova hits a firm return, Sabalenka takes it from the middle of the court, first ball, straight to Anisimova’s forehand. Didn’t lean off it, didn’t fade it—just ripped it. She took her time after winning—you could see the stress relief. Props to Max Mirnyi, by the way. I played with him on tour. He joined Team Sabalenka a month ago, gave them a fresh set of eyes. Huge credit to him."

He went on to describe the trophy ceremony as 'longer than usual', feeling sorry for the American while giving Sabalenka her well-deserved acclaim for clinching her fourth Grand Slam title, and second consecutive US Open win.

"Honestly, brutal. She’s standing there, hasn’t even hugged anyone yet, and has to step up to the mic," Roddick said. "The goal at that point is just to get through it without breaking down. I get the tradition, I like the trophy presentation. But the wait feels long. Tonight felt longer than usual. You can tighten it up—let the runner-up wave to the crowd, then walk off to applause. Otherwise, it just ends awkwardly. And the whole handing out millions of dollars on stage? That’s always weird. Trust me—every player would give up that check for the win. No hesitation. But listen, you can feel bad for Anisimova and still give Sabalenka all the credit in the world. She’s a badass. She’s No. 1, she’s tough, she makes adjustments. That’s greatness."

Ahead of the upcoming men's final, Roddick planted his predictions before analysing what is touted to be another classic between the duo. Despite him leaning towards the Italian, he described Alcaraz as 'ridiculous', before implying how important each player's serve would be if any of them wanted to go home with the trophy.

"I’ve picked Sinner. But let me tell you—Alcaraz is ridiculous," he said. "I watched him against Felix Auger-Aliassime last night. He’s got to serve better than 47% though. The serve’s not in rhythm. Maybe he fixes it—Tracy Austin said she saw him practicing for an hour after. He used to be a platform server, then switched to one foot up. Big improvement, but it’s not fully flowing.

"Then it’s the algorithm vs. the artist. Sinner is a machine, Alcaraz is the artist. The chess match is: can Alcaraz get forward against Sinner’s ball speed? He’s been transitioning great this tournament, but Sinner hits bigger than anyone—even Novak right now. Bottom line: if one of them serves under 50%, that guy’s not winning."

Yesterday at Flushing Meadows, Roddick saw the Spaniard going through his drills, looking impeccably relaxed. "I saw him around 11:30 a.m. He looked relaxed, just getting body work done. He doesn’t need to hit much the day before a match. Probably spent the day chilling, watching tennis, keeping his routine—eat what he eats, electrolytes counted, in the hyperbaric chamber by 10 p.m."

The final kicks off tonight on Arthur Ashe at 2pm local time (7pm BST), concluding what has been a dramatic two weeks in New York.