Rafael Nadal first announced himself to the tennis community during the Davis Cup 2004 by helping his nation win the title. But before the finals clash against the USA, Andy Roddick was glad to be going up against the 17-year-old instead of Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Roddick had a special episode of the “Served” podcast organized to pay tribute to Nadal, who recently announced his retirement. During this episode, the American legend recollected his famous encounter with the Mallorca native in the Davis Cup 2004 finals.
Entering the finals, Spain decided to replace Ferrero with Nadal to face Roddick on clay. Roddick was elated when he first heard this news. The then World No.2 was set to face a teenager instead of the French Open 2003 winner on the clay court in Seville.
“Imagine this statement the happiness that I felt because they subbed in Rafa Nadal to play against me on clay, in Spain… Going into that I’m like ‘oh yeah, he could grind, he’s going to be good’,” Roddick revealed.
Roddick counted his chickens before they even hatched. But Spain’s bold decision to replace a Grand Slam winner for a kid did end up in their favor. The 17-year-old performed incredibly well to clinch a 6-7, 6-2, 7-6, 6-2 win over the American. This led Roddick to believe Nadal would cause havoc in the tennis world for years to come.
“This kid in the fourth set closed the coffin on me. I lost 6-2 in the third (set). I was #2 in the world at the time. I walked off of that court and I said planet tennis Earth has a f**king problem for the next however many years, especially on clay,” Roddick said.
When Rafa Nadal announced himself to the WORLD
In 2004 he took down World No. 2 @andyroddick to give Spain the 2-0 lead against USA in the #DavisCup final ✨
Spain would go on to win the title after defeating USA 3-2 pic.twitter.com/5jtdMwV8mc
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) October 10, 2024
Roddick wasn’t the only one to have faith in Nadal’s prosperous future. Team America’s trainer, Doug Spreen, made some bold claims after the Davis Cup tie — Rafa would win seven Roland Garros titles in his career. “He goes ‘he’s gonna win seven Roland Garros titles’,” Roddick disclosed.
As any player would react, Andy didn’t take Spreen seriously at that time. Twenty years later, Nadal has shocked numerous such doubters by winning 14 French Open titles and 22 majors in total. He is also retiring as one of the most successful players in ATP history, competing for the prestigious GOAT title.
