‘He’s a Chameleon’: Andy Roddick Unfolds the Reason Behind Roger Federer’s Popularity

In August 2021, the renowned journalist Christopher Clarey published a special book on Roger Federer’s tennis career, The Master: The Brilliant Career of Roger Federer. The New York Times columnist and sportswriter has been following the 20-time Grand Slam champion for many years.

In the book, he also mentioned various quotes from tennis stars who he talked to, to find out more about Roger as a person. The 2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick revealed the reason why Roger Federer is so popular. Apart from having competed on the tennis courts, Roddick is a very close friend of the Swiss star.

‘Can work in any kind of room’ Andy Roddick describes why Roger Federer is universally loved

Clarey’s book talks about the incredible longevity and impact of Roger Federer’s career. In it, Roddick described Roger as a socially intelligent person. Federer, alongside Serena Williams, is the biggest superstar of tennis and his popularity has elevated the sport to a much higher status than it ever enjoyed before.

He’s universally loved by fans and peers on the Tour, and recently, he also won his 19th consecutive Fans’ Favorite award on the ATP Tour.

In the book, Roddick stated, “He’s extremely socially intelligent, and I think that’s a huge reason why he’s so popular. He’s a chameleon. He can work in kind of any room, and it’s a genuine emotion. It’s not like he’s fitting the mold in a calculated sense.”

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Roddick and Federer at Laver Cup 2021

Roger Federer and Andy Roddick made a surprise visit at the Laver Cup 2021. The amazing pair got involved in a fun conversation as they talked about various interesting topics. They also discussed the potential lineups of the Laver Cup if it would have existed 20-25 years ago.

They said, “2001, it would have been Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Gustavo Kuerten, (Pat) Rafter… that would’ve been a nasty team. Maybe, team World’s favorite there.”

In addition, Roddick joked and quoted, “I was looking at the list (rankings list) from 2009, and Nikolay Davydenko would have been the fifth player on the team (team Europe) but he was ranked, like, four in the world. I wouldn’t have liked our (team World) chances in 2008, 2009.”

Roddick and Federer share a strong bond and thus, his comments about the Swiss maestro would mean a lot to Roger.

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