The journey of 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams as a tennis player came to an end in the third round of the US Open, as she lost against Australian tennis player Ajla Tomljanovic. Since then, many current and former players paid homage to the great champion.

Former American player Andy Roddick, who has been a lifelong friend of Serena, took to social media and wrote a farewell message for her. However, he received some backlash from fans regarding one particular phrase in his tribute message, which made him subsequently delete his post.

Andy Roddick deletes his farewell message for Serena Williams

Notably, in his farewell message, Roddick called Serena Williams “my old friend”, which many fans did not like. After receiving flak from fans, Roddick deleted that message from Twitter. However, he feels regret after deleting that tweet, as he felt it was the perfect farewell message for Serena. 

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Speaking about deleting his earlier tweet, Andy said, “Deleting my Serena tweet from last night. I said “my old friend” in it meaning we’ve known each other a long time. Some people are pretending to be offended by that…… killjoy“

“I shouldn’t have deleted it. It was a perfect tweet. The best tweet. I know the best words. Lots of people told me it was a perfect tweet.  I know lots of people… best… perfect. Tweet,” Roddick further tweeted. 

Apart from Roddick, many legendary tennis players, including Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Venus Williams, and others, also paid homage to the great champion.

When Roddick trolled Serena for her outburst at the US Open

Notably, in the 2009 US Open, Serena Williams had one of the most controversial moments in her career. During her semi-final match against Kim Clijsters, a line judge called a foot fault at a crucial stage of the match, which irked Williams, as she got into an argument with the line judge and the chair umpire.

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After her outburst, Williams eventually lost the match and received a hefty fine from the tournament organizers. A year later, before the start of the Australian Open, Williams was sitting courtside as Roddick was taking part in a charity match. During that match, a line judge called a foot fault, which brought out a hilarious response from Roddick, as he said, “Did you really call a foot fault on me in a charity match.” 

Later, he said, “You realize Serena is over there, right?”

This response from Roddick left the crowd and Serena in splits. Safe to say, Serena Williams and Andy Roddick share a great relationship with one another.