‘Biggest Point of Jealousy’- American Tennis Legend Andy Roddick Blames Roger Federer for His Early Retirement

Apr 16, 2023 | 7:23 AM EDT

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During his decade-long journey, Andy Roddick reached several Grand Slam finals by outclassing some of the most talented players. However, the American tennis legend only clinched one major title despite having several stellar performances during that run. There was only one player who is responsible for the former tennis ace’s heartbreaking defeats.

It was one other than Roger Federer who became an absolute nightmare for the former US Open champion as he prevailed in their 4 major finals meetings. In addition to his extraordinary talent, the Swiss tennis legend’s attitude and on-court personality bothered the Hall of Famer. The former American tennis player recently revealed how the 20 singles Grand Slam champion is a major reason behind his early retirement from competitive tennis.

Andy Roddick blames Roger Federer for his decision to move away from the court

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The 40-year-old tennis legend recently appeared in the ‘Five Clubs’ podcast show alongside show hosts, Johnson Wagner & Brendon de Jonge. While talking about his pickleball adventures, the Hall of Famer took a deep dive into his decade-long journey on the tennis court. Andy Roddick revealed how he always had a ‘healthy’ perspective, despite losing a lot of major finals in his journey.

He said, “But I always had an appreciation for it I always had perspective on listen like I lost the excruciating, you know, lots of Wimbeldon finals three times. The last time was brutal, but at the end of it like the crowd is chanting, chanting my name and I didn’t win. Yeah. And so its perspective matters. So Right. So I always had, I think, a healthy sense of perspective.”

The former American tennis player was a dominating figure on the court. However, he also had an emotional side to him. Speaking of it, the former US Open champion revealed how playing against his arch-rival, Roger Federer, became the biggest point of jealousy of his journey.

It further affected his decision to put down his racket at the mere age of 32. Roddick said, “Even if I was just pissed, I wasn’t easy. I was pretty emotional. Like practice courts. I had to like, the biggest. The biggest point of jealousy I ever had with Roger Federer was I had to like win every practice set.”

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He added, “Otherwise, I felt like I wasn’t prepared. Like I had to die for it. I had to like it. And that’s probably why I retire at 30. Right? It’s just the mental toll that I kind of put on myself. Whereas I would look over and I’d be walking in from some practice where I went two and a half hours and you know, literally had to have a result in practice, which is insane.”

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What do you think about Roddick’s opinion on his old arch-rival, Federer? Let us know in the comments section.