In his glorious career, Roger Federer has had numerous on-court rivalries. However, his rivalry with Andy Roddick remains a classic one. Looking at the records, like most of his rivalries, Federer has dominated over Roddick by a huge margin.
Having the losses still in mind, Roddick wished Federer to have been banned from the Wimbledon Championships. Following his retirement in 2012, Roddick regularly takes part in shows relating to the sport. Recently, the American sensation participated in Kasich & Klepper’s podcast. During the conversation, the former world number one expressed his wish of getting Federer banned from the tournament he has won eight times.
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Andy Roddick recalls his rivalry days with Roger Federer
Digging deeper into their rivalry, the two faced each other a total of eight times in Grand Slams. Dissecting the clashes, out of the eight meetings, four of them took place at the Wimbledon Championships. Dissecting further, three out of the four meetings were the finals of the Wimbledon Championships. Meanwhile, the fourth one was the semi-finals.
Apart from the four Wimbledon clashes, the two faced each other twice at the US Open, and twice at the Australian Open. On many occasions, Roddick took the extra step to look for victory. However, despite repeated tries from the former US Open champion, it was Roger Federer who triumphed in all the meetings.
Recalling the phase, Roddick said, “As many times I would have wanted him banned from US Open, I would have wanted him banned from Wimbledon more often. I lost to that guy a lot of times on a lot of big stages.”
Roddick goes all praise for Federer
Despite being on-court rivals, the two shared a strong bond off the court. A bond that looks strong till date. Carrying forward the legacy, the two are often heard praising each other. This time was no different. Even though Roddick made an honest confession about their Grand Slam battles, he didn’t shy away from praising Federer for his personality.
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Roddick said, “I don’t know if you ever lost a race to someone that you want to dislike, but they actually were good people and good humans, and conducted themselves in a way that you couldn’t even get angry about. Even if you tried the brainwashing thing where you’re trying to grab some sort of motivation from their general being.”?
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“Roger is great. He has great hair, he speaks 5 languages, he can endorse your product in any of them. Roger is the best. Yes, I agree with you, he should have taken a miss in one of those years,”?he cheekily added.
While the praise seemed a decent one, it undoubtedly didn’t justify the majestic aura of the Swiss master. What do you think of Roddick’s rivalry with Federer on the court? Let us know in the comments below.