Hall of Fame Live with Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick is spending his time in these stay at home times the same way he has spent much of his time since retiring from pro tennis in 2012 – by enjoying time with his family and the ability to relax and savor a nice glass of wine.
The former World No. 1 and US Open champ dialed in to this week’s Hall of Fame LIVE to discuss his career, his professional inspirations, and to take a stroll down Memory Road in a special "Roddick Rewind" segment.
Here are three things we learned about Andy Roddick.
His Unique Serve was Not A Trained Skill
Growing up one as one of the smaller kids on the court, Andy developed a defensive style of play and he packed a lot of power behind every hit. His 100+ mph serve made headlines on tour and was a frightful thing to face across the net. Its origins however were not born from intense study of technique, rather out of frustration after a bad set.
During an especially frustrating match against longtime friend Mardy Fish, he got heated and took a short, powerful swing on his next serve and to his surprise it went in. After he repeated the feat to similar results, his unique serve motion was adopted then honed, leaving opponents stunned for years to come!
Over the years no coach dared mess with Andy's special weapon.
His first experience in the Players’ Lounge at the US Open Wasn’t By Invitation
When he was just nine years old, Andy attended the US Open with his mother. Being nine, he was just as interested in the experience of being at a major as he was with the action taking place on the court. Granted with permission to explore, he found his way to the outside of the players’ lounge and scouted for the best way to enter undetected.
Upon making his sneaky entrance he was in awe of being able to see his favorite players up close, and impressed with the availability of free video games! He snuck back out undetected, but of course came back years later, this time leaving the lounge as the US Open Champion!
Advice He Wished He Had as a Young Player
If he could choose one thing to change about his playing career, Andy would have paced himself more. When he looks back on his career, he wished he had taken more time to heal from injuries and slowed down.
Now looking at the current players on tour, he admires the precedent set by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. They take time to heal and play with longevity in mind. Roddick believes that if he had paced his training and scheduling better he would have been on tour for longer.
Andy also reminisced on his induction into the Hall of Fame and his speech which was written to honor all those who inspired his career, and helped him achieve the success he did. Hear all about Andy’s induction memories, as well as his match against Serena Williams, one she still reminds him about every time they talk on the full Hall of Fame Live.
It was a particularly special week to have Andy join us, during what would have been Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend. While we can't all gather in Newport for that special weekend this year, you can connect to the Hall fo Fame in a special way this week by adding your name and photo to a special museum exhibit in the Hall of Fame, just alongside Andy's and so many other greats. Learn how.
WATCH THE FULL HALL OF FAME LIVE
Do you want to be notified when we go live?
Leave your email address and we'll send you an email alert before our next Hall of Fame Live so you can join the conversation as it happens!
