Andy Roddick and the Cycle of (Tennis) Life

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After crushing Aussie Bernard Tomic 6-3, 6-4, 6-0, Andy Roddick reflected on his fate, fun and a memorable career.

 Question.  So are you ready to give your un‑retirement speech after that performance?

 ANDY RODDICK:  No.  (Smiling.)

 Q.  You were in the proverbial zone.

RODDICK:  I had no idea what was going to happen out there … [This] was a different kind of nerves than I’ve had before.  That was surprising   … It was great….   I looked around.  I had a good time.  When they’re doing the dancing and stuff on the switch‑overs, I was just watching…. That’s the smallest the stadium felt to me.  It almost felt cozy for once … I don’t know why.  It felt comfortable…. There are no guarantees for me now, so I was trying to notice stuff.

 Q.  Was there any connection between knowing you’d announced your retirement and then going out and playing some of your best tennis?

RODDICK:  [I] felt weird before the match.  Twenty minutes before it was kind of getting the best of me.  I had to get my stuff together before I walked out. 

 Q. You once said that Roger had flash and artistry, but your advantage was that you could hit the crap out of the ball. Did it give you a certain amount of satisfaction that you maybe didn’t have the gifts of a few of the players, but you were right in there fighting and getting every ounce out of it?

RODDICK:  That’s what I had to do as an athlete …. I knew staying back and playing cute shots and stuff against Roger probably wasn’t going to work. You try different things knowing that you have to execute perfectly, so sometimes you look stupid if you miss a couple. We can all see it, but the hard part is executing, otherwise everyone would do it. Obviously my record against Roger’s not good, but I did take a certain amount of pride in hearing about how good this guy is and how good that guy is, this guy looks so nice and he’s got the sweetest one‑handed shot or two‑handed shot, and I would look and I pretty much sucked at everything. But then I looked at the rankings and I was 15 spots ahead of him, so I always liked that part of it.   

 Q.  You’ll never play Tomic again.  Do you have any advice?

RODDICK: I would tell him it’s probably never as good as it seems at a given moment, and it’s probably never as bad as it seems.

Q.  When you were feeling emotional before, was that in the locker room?

RODDICK:  I was in the locker room…. [and] the moment hit me a little bit.  You start realizing the finality … You think different things.  I walk out for warmup, and is this going to be the last warmup?… It got to me a little bit.  Larry had to come over and kind of tell me to knock it off.

 

Q. You were one of the first to send out a tweet after Kim’s last match.

RODDICK:  It’s bittersweet.  It was weird.  I was watching her.  I kind of felt the way I did during my first round, and the next day I spent watching her match.

         She’s one of the most likable players that’s ever been out here.  You could definitely find some people who have had issues with me; I dare you to find someone that’s had an issue with her.  She’s a great human.  I hope she’s happy wherever she’s at.

Q.  Can you put in words what it feels like to be embraced by a big crowd?

RODDICK:  It’s a humbling experience, for sure.  It’s certainly nice to feel appreciated at the end of all of it.  You have twenty four and a half thousand people there to see something.  It’s a good feeling. Kind of an outpouring of support from inside the tennis world and outside the tennis world in the last 24 hours is certainly not something that I expected to the lengths it’s come from. Obviously it feels great, though.

 Q.  Can you talk about this media process.  Every year you do half a billion press conferences.  What is it like to go from the French press conferences with their existential questions, the British with the tabs, and all that?  Can you talk about how tough it is to come out after a loss?

RODDICK:  I’ve always felt okay with it. Even in my worst moments, I come in here knowing it’s a vital part of our game, in growing it.  I certainly am not always in the mood for it after a bad loss, but I don’t think I’ve ever been the guy who hasn’t come in.  I certainly get the process.  I realize how vital this part is.  It’s a reason why I’ve been as fortunate as I have, too … As much as I’ve been pissed off at you or you guys have been pissed off at me, I’ll certainly look back fondly and smile about it at the end.

 Q.  Lleyton Hewitt was out on Court 11 for four and a half hours still trying to play as long as he can.  Maybe a take on how much you admire his result.

RODDICK:  Oh, man, he’s probably the best competitor I played against.  It’s weird. This year, we’ve probably become friends.  At first we probably didn’t like each other much, and then it came to the point where we respected each other. Then it was slowly like we kind of each give a little ground and say, “How you doing?”  “I’m good.”  “How are you?”  “Okay.”  Now we’ll text each other back and forth after matches and stuff.  It’s funny, the cycle we were talking about earlier, how that’s come full circle.  I come in today and he’s in the throes of a battle.  Our lockers are right next to each other.  He came in and he was really pumped up. It would be hard for me to respect what he’s done in this game more than I do.

 Q. Are you going to miss having an audience?

RODDICK:  I don’t think so.  I don’t think so.  It’s been a while since I’ve had to do a pre-tournament press conference, and I don’t really miss it.  I don’t need it.  The public part of it I don’t think I’ll miss. The innocent parts I’ll miss, the guys.  That will be the part on quiet days I’ll probably miss a little bit.

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