Like Nick Kyrgios starting his podcast Good Trouble With Nick Kyrgios, where his friends form his guests, former World No.1 Andy Roddick has begun hosting a podcast called Served With Andy Roddick. Roddick, who recently rushed to the defense of Andy Murray and was once aided by Serena Williams, has always been a favorite among his peers. Combining that with his tennis knowledge, Roddick makes a perfect choice to host the podcast.
Besides being a tennis star, Andy Roddick has a great sense of humor. Having always brought his funny, goofy vibes into the game during his playing days, he has carried that attitude post-retirement as well. The 2003 US Open winner is also a natural at interviewing people, having done so previously with Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and others.
The first episode of the Andy Roddick podcast is out and it’s about mainly recapping the 2024 Australian Open with veteran tennis journalist, Jon Wertheim. Roddick immediately starts with how eager he has been to get this guest on his show, inadvertently praising Wertheim and making him feel comfortable. Wertheim also covers the NBA and MMA among other sports and sports tournaments.
The Andy Roddick podcast touched upon several points such as Jannik Sinner being a natural at such a young age, his triumph over Daniil Medvedev in the final, and the overall Australian Open 2024 major highlights. But some other major points they went over included Medvedev strangely being compared to Roger Federer. Andy Roddick played an amazing final with Federer at the 2009 Wimbledon finals in a losing cause for the American. Thereby, he knows the Swiss legend’s game and prowess all too well.
Roddick is a huge fan of Medvedev, calling him a better player than himself without hesitation. Despite Medvedev’s loss, Roddick believes his achievement is still remarkable given he beat Djokovic in the finals to win his only Grand Slam at the 2021 US Open. Roddick also praised Sinner and said that he is astonished by the Italian youngster’s improvement every year.
Based on the final match between Medvedev and Sinner and both of their achievements in recent years, he boldly claimed they are the next ‘Big Two’ after the ‘Big Three’ i.e. Djokovic, Federer, and Rafael Nadal ruled for so many years. The Andy Roddick podcast then steered towards another player who has had a phenomenal run in recent years – Coco Gauff.
Gauff lost in the semi-finals to Aryna Sabalenka but left the tournament with an improvement in her ranking. She went from No. 4 to No. 3. Roddick couldn’t praise Gauff enough and said he absolutely loves watching her play. Roddick has also trained with her before thanks to their mutual coach, Brad Gilbert and was left mighty impressed with the young American. But he also praised her parents for staying true to their words to Roddick and paying him a visit for her training. Her parents were the best Roddick has ever seen.
Andy Roddick also talked about the Aryna Sabalenka. Sabalenka didn’t improve on her rankings post her second consecutive AO win. Despite that, Roddick believes that she is currently better than World No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
“Sabalenka is the most bankable player on Earth right now. Tell me why I’m wrong,” said Roddick.
Roddick’s guest Wertheim also said that Sabalenka’s win is very underrated. This is because until very recently the Belarusian player was choking against lower-ranked opponents. But now, she is suddenly invincible.
The Andy Roddick podcast is a breath of fresh air, although the duration of it being above 60 minutes might be the cause of it only receiving 2,600 views so far on YouTube. However, it is also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify globally, as viewership is expected to pick up on these platforms.
The SportsRush would give the Andy Roddick podcast episode a 4/5 rating.
