Andy Roddick and veteran journalist, Jon Wertheim recently spoke about Rafael Nadal in their podcast Served with Andy Roddick. They were full of awe of Rafael Nadal and dived deep into their memories listing the greatness of the Spaniard. During the podcast, Roddick claimed that Rafael Nadal was more relatable to him personally than Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer.
Nadal, Djokovic and Roger Federer had been involved in fierce rivalry over the course of the last decade. The three of the most successful players of all time were all widely loved by tennis fans. However, Roddick felt that Nadal was more relatable to him throughout his career since he has never changed as a person negatively in the last 20 years, remaining humble in success and failure both.
“When you see Nadal behind the scenes and the way he operates and the way he treats people, you feel this guy is who he is. He is just endearing, not because it’s calculated or he is showing false humility, it is just because he is that way. For someone like me who sees these three guys (Nadal, Federer and Djokovic) as superheroes, he was the most relatable because you could see his struggle. I have come to know, respect and get Rafa even more over time.”
Andy Roddick further added that Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer operated more ‘from a place of confidence’ when playing tennis. However, when it came to Rafael Nadal, the Spaniard operated more ‘from a place of insecurity’. Roddick claimed that he too more often than not, had his share of doubts while playing, and Nadal’s attitude ‘drove him crazy’, which is more in a sense of admiration.
Roddick also interestingly spoke about the same while commentating during the Netflix Slam 2024 match between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz in Las Vegas. Whether it was his first match at even Roland Garros for that matter or his 400th, Nadal was aware of how his mortality and that he could be defeated since each match is different. Nadal had that nervous energy around him which enabled him to reach greater heights as per Roddick.
Jon Wertheim shares an incident involving Rafael Nadal during the podcast
During the podcast with Andy Roddick, Jon Wertheim shared an incident regarding Rafael Nadal. The duo were discussing Nadal’s friendly nature when Wertheim talked about an incident in Australia. When Wertheim was travelling in a cab in Australia, he asked the driver about his favorite tennis player. The driver was quick to admit that Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer were the best to drive around, as they were very humble.
Another example was when Wertheim was interviewing a young Nadal during the US Open. This was in 2008 when the Spaniard was fresh from winning the Wimbledon and Olympic gold. However, during the interview, Nadal rushed back on practice court because he forgot an empty water bottle outside.
The Spaniard was concerned because he forgot to throw his bottle away. Wertheim used these two examples to prove how humble Rafael Nadal actually is. Even Andy Roddick agreed that Rafael Nadal is indeed a favorite amongst players like him back then in the locker room as well as outside the tennis court and arena due to having ‘common courtesy’.
