Andy Roddick cemented his place in the tennis world with an incredible athletic career. But like any road to advancement, there will inevitably come a time when a tough decision must be made. Recognizing the need for evolution at one point, Roddick decided to part ways with his first coach, Tarik Benhabiles.

He recently talked about how having a split conversation with the 59-year-old French coach was one of the hardest things he had ever done. Let’s take a look at how difficult it was for him to sever such a long relationship.

Andy Roddick opens up about his hardest conversation

Letting go of things is one of the hardest things; similarly, breaking a coach-player bond hurts the same. Recently, in the recent episode of Served with Andy Roddick’s podcast, he talked about how even though the French coach has done a lot for him, he had to leave him behind.

He stated, “Once that relationship shifted a little bit from his almost father figure, I was a kid to now we both are pros, 6th in the world, lost the first round in the Australian Open do I need a new voice?” Not only that, he highlighted how Benhabiles was someone who trusted in a 17-year-old who lived off the street, but after a certain time, he had the conversation of the two going their ways.

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Roddick added, “I have to get back on the train to go have this conversation with Tarik in person, in Paris. And so I go back, I get off the train, we meet outside of the gate of the Roland Garros… It was horrible. I could see myself breaking his heart through his face, it was just horrible.”

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After being together for 4 years, Roddick went on and hired Brad Gilbert, after the first-round loss at the 2003 French Open. But after winning the US Open that year, he made a point to thank Benhabiles for everything he had done.

When Roddick admires Benhabiles’ contributions

After defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero in the US Open final and winning his first Grand Slam title, Roddick ensured to thank his coaches for everything. According to the Tampa Bay Times, after the match, he highlighted how, as Gilbert deserves the test credit from one more person, the French coach is deserving of the same.

He said, “Brad’s getting a lot of credit right now, as he should. But Tarik was with me for four years. He knows me about as well as anybody. He was maybe the first one with a serious face to say, “You can be a professional tennis player. You can be really good at this game.’ “ Along with that, he highlighted that it was Benhabiles who was the first to believe that the American tennis star could be a professional player.

Nevertheless, what are your thoughts on Roddick’s toughest conversation? Do let us know in the comment section below.

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