“He is the most relaxed person I’ve ever seen beside of Roger before a Slam final” : Andy Roddick compares Jannik Sinner to Roger Federer after US Open final
Amidst facing criticism due to his recent doping controversy, Jannik Sinner showed the world why he is the top ranked player in tennis as he dominated his way to win the US Open. He also added another hard-court Grand Slam title to his collection this year.
Amongst the array of celebrities present in the Flushing Meadows, former 2003 winner Andy Roddick also showed up in the latter stages of the tournament. The American had not met the Italian yet, and was vividly surprised to see his performance in the knockout stages.
Before seeing the youngster comfortably win the final in straight sets against Taylor Fritz, Roddick had gotten the chance to meet the Italian and his team, and was left impressed by his mentality and composure pre-match, so much so that he compared Sinner to one of the members of the ‘Big 3’.
“He plays and is not very stressed” : Andy Roddick analyses Jannik Sinner’s attitude which has led him to the top
Speaking on his podcast ‘Served with Andy Roddick’, the American revealed how he had never seen a player more calm than the Italian was before a major final, apart from his friend and rival Roger Federer.
“I had never met Jannik Sinner before in my life. I don’t know a lot of the players because I’m not at all the tournaments. I said hello quickly and then got out of the way because my biggest fear ever is being in someone’s way when they’re getting ready for a match or something,” said Roddick.
“But he is the most relaxed person I’ve ever seen beside of Roger before a Slam final. It feels like he has this very quiet confidence about the way that he goes about things. Even his celebrations aren’t for anyone else, it’s like this relief like okay and you feel like he was ready to start again like an hour after the US Open, which is a problem for the rest of the earth,” the 42-year-old added.
Andy Roddick also talked about the Italian’s post-match attitude just after winning the US Open, and analysed how this mindset separates him from other players who have way more experience under their belt.
“After the match Jannik was talking about his shots and how he wanted to get back to work right away to improve, all this just an hour after the US Open and it’s really intimidating. He plays and is not very stressed.”
After an eventful summer, winning both the US and Cincinnati Open, all while facing heavy criticism for his doping allegations, Jannik Sinner is off to a well-deserved break. He will feature in the final ATP tournaments of the season, where he hopes to increase his lead as the world no.1 ranked player.
