Episode 4 of the Served With Andy Roddick podcast dropped on all platforms on February 20. With his usual guest Jon Wertheim, the American talked about Jannik Sinner’s form and fitness, also touching upon Naomi Osaka and Carlos Alcaraz. Former World No.1 Kim Clijsters joined the duo later on, talking about the Simona Halep case and playing after childbirth.
Sinner set a rare record by winning the 2024 Rotterdam Open, his first tournament after bagging the 2024 Australian Open. Roddick talked about how the Italian has improved his fitness and maturity, elevating his game.
Andy Roddick talked about Karolina Pliskova and Naomi Osaka getting back to good levels and how well the current WTA top 4 are playing. He said it was ‘fun’ to see them rotate tournament wins. Wertheim added they pushed each other to play well.
On Episode 4 of the Served With Andy Roddick podcast, he defended Carlos Alcaraz after the Spaniard struggled in the Argentina Open. He fell to an upset defeat against Nicolas Jarry in the semi-finals. While he admitted the World No.2 was not at his best, he said it is ‘dumb’ to think he will never win anything again. Jon Wertheim claimed with his already impressive resume, Alcaraz could retire right away and still be an all-time legend.
With Stefanos Tsitsipas falling out of the ATP top 10, there is no player with the one-handed backhand in the top 10 for the first time in history. Roddick and Wertheim discussed this in-depth with some great insights. The former compared today’s game to his active days, reasoning why the shot went out of style.
They also went over the details and timeline of Halep’s doping case. They discussed the intricacies, revealing how intensive the drug tests are. Roddick said he had to disclose everything even if he hit the town for some drinks with his wife.
The pair talked about Patrick Mouratoglou’s involvement. Wertheim admitted it would be a difficult ordeal for Halep despite her great legal team. This topic also resurfaced after Clijsters joined the panel.
What was discussed on Episode 4 of the Served With Andy Roddick podcast after Kim Clijsters joined?
After Jon Wertheim took leave, Andy Roddick brought on ‘one of his favorite people on Earth’ Kim Clijsters to the podcast. They joked around as the Belgian star admitted to being a bit hungover from last night. She shared updates about her and her family with Roddick.
The four-time singles Grand Slam champion revealed she occasionally plays pickleball. She also talked about her Major League Pickleball team, the Las Vegas Night Owls. They compared the pacing of the sport to tennis, saying it’s easier than Padel and tennis.
Clijsters revealed a fan turned down a private one-hour tennis lesson from her to play pickleball with her instead, shocking Roddick. Moving on from pickleball, Episode 4 of the Served With Andy Roddick podcast moved to discuss Clijsters’ post-pregnancy career. She won three of her four singles majors after becoming a mother, something which Roddick held in great regard.
Roddick and Clijsters also talked about Simona Halep’s case. After a quick recap, the latter pointed fingers at the Romanian’s team. The American agreed, saying Patrick Mouratoglou came in after Halep removed her entire staff and should be held responsible.
Roddick took shots at the coach, saying he is ‘great at self-promotion’. He likened Mouratoglou to rapper Diddy (Daddy Puff), claiming the Frenchman changed player attachments like the musician appeared in ‘every’ music video in the 1990s. He was not thrilled that Halep was facing consequences while Mouratoglou went about his life normally.
Kim Clijsters signed off after the Halep discussion. Roddick wound down the podcast with an anecdote of police extortion he faced in Russia and his recent tweet about it. Before signing off, he joked about how he hit his head on his door frame and almost got knocked out.
The SportsRush rates Episode 4 of the Served With Andy Roddick podcast with Kim Clijsters 5/5.
