Andy Roddick talked about the Australian Open 2024 recently on his podcast, ‘Served with Andy Roddick’. The former American superstar alongwith sports journalist Jon Wertheim discussed the first Grand Slam of the tournament and compared it’s current stars to the stars of the past. Roddick was impressed by Jannik Sinner, as the Italian came back from behind to defeat Daniil Medvedev in the final.
Speaking about the new generation of players, Andy Roddick compared them to the players of his own era. Sinner and Medvedev are both tall and lanky players but they even have the pace to run around the court. Roddick admitted that in his era, tall players were only known for their big serves. However, they struggled to cover the court during long rallies. The duo further discussed on their podcast that tall players in these era are capable of covering the court with pace and that makes them tough to play.
Andy Roddick believes that players like Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev are the accurate description of a modern day player. Both the players are over six feet tall but still very agile and could easily get to any part of the court. The American believes they don’t just have a big serve, but can also hurt their opponents from the baseline.
Andy Roddick compares Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev to LeBron James
Andy Roddick has hailed the next generation of tennis players as the players to replace the ‘Big Three’. Speaking during his podcast, Roddick compared the modern tennis players to NBA stars and in particular, LeBron James. The American believes that LeBron James turned around the NBA as he was not just tall but also the quickest player on court. Nobody came close to him due to his height and agility, and Sinner and Medvedev are made from the same cloth.
“I draw the parallels with it in the NBA. LeBron James is physically bigger than Karl Malone and he is also the fastest guy on the court. I think that’s what we are seeing. We talk about the next generation post Big Three and I think this is it.”
Andy Roddick believes that this is what tennis fans can expect post the ‘Big Three’. Players are developing themselves and becoming better in all aspects of the game. While Sinner and Medvedev are tall, they are also capable of outpacing their opponents. The American believes that the tennis is heading this way in the future.
