Andy Roddick on GOAT discussion: "How to award the Oscar without watching the film"
Like many tennis players currently, Andy Roddick uses the quarantine caused by the corona virus to talk about the sport of tennis via video chat. At his first appearance on the Tennis Channel , the American speaks about the discussion about who is the greatest of all time and about players that he currently enjoys watching.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Mar 27, 2020, 12:57 pm
It is the discussion par excellence in tennis in recent years: The question of who stands out again among the "Big Three", among the three exceptional players Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, can call himself GOAT - greatest of all time. Just as this discussion lives on the performance of the "Big Three" on the pitch, this debate naturally lives on the former and active players, coaches and experts who give their assessment of this question.
With all due respect to Andy Roddick, his assessment of this jumble of opinions would have been lost if the American hadn't decided to add another aspect to the debate. Speaking to the Tennis Channel , the former world number one said: "To be honest, I find it a bit stupid at this point in time. It's like awarding an Oscar without having finished watching the film." According to Roddick, one would Bringing one of the "Big Three" to the GOAT today would make the other two feel disrespectful. "It's just too early," said Roddick.
Andy Roddick: "You are running out of superlatives"
Instead of trying endlessly to put one of the three leaders in the Grand Slam title ranking over the other two, one should be happy to see these three players on the court at the same time: "I'm just glad that we Rafa, Novak and Roger are still in tennis. Hopefully Andy Murray will come back, "said Roddick. But to find the Greatest-Of-All-Time discussion "stupid" does not mean that the American would not recognize the achievements of the "Big Three": "At some point you run out of superlatives to describe how crazy it is, that these three players have been playing this level for so long, " said the 38-year-old. Sometimes it feels like the three are playing X-Box.
The exceptional performance of these three players was demonstrated by Andy Roddick using Pete Sampras as an example: "He would win a Grand Slam in one year, two in a very good year, but he would still sometimes lose in the third or fourth round. But this three make it to the semi-finals every time - it's crazy, "said Roddick. Federer, Nadal and Djokovic above all have a virtue that distinguishes a very good from an exceptional tennis player: "One of the most important things is to get into the semifinals constantly - even if you don't play your best tennis in the first week. Constance makes the difference. "
Nevertheless, these three men are already in the autumn of their careers, Novak Djokovic is the youngest representative at 32, while Roger Federer is already 38. When asked who he particularly likes to watch the young generation, Andy Roddick has three names: Bianca Andreescu, Coco Gauff and Felix Auger-Aliassime. "It is exciting to watch Bianca Andreescu. She makes it look like a street fight," said the American. "Felix Auger-Aliassime has a lot of power, although it doesn't look like he is going to take his shoes off," Roddick admires the Canadian shooting star. What about Coco Gauff? "It is simply fantastic."