“I Was Not That Way”: Andy Roddick Opens up on What Made Him Jealous of Roger Federer

Roger Federer has had multiple fierce rivalries over his illustrious career. Starting from the 2001 season onwards, Federer had an intense rivalry with Andy Roddick, and the duo constantly competed against each other at the latter stages of the tournament.

Recently, Roddick answered fan questions during the #AskAndy show conducted by Tennis Channel. During the session, Roddick answered queries about his most satisfying win, who has the best racket smash on tour, and more.

Roddick reveals being jealous of Roger Federer

The most interesting answer given by the 2003 US Open champion was when a fan asked him about when was he the most nervous before or during the match.

In his reply, Roddick admitted to being anxious before the start of a match and revealed being envious of Federer because his arch-rival always seemed composed during the practice sessions.

“I was always jittery before matches. One of my many sources of jealousy with Roger was how relaxed he was able to be just through kind of his operation, whether it was practice before matches. I was not that way. I was and am pretty high-strung when I care about something,” said Roddick.

The American acknowledged his shortcoming in being unable to keep himself relaxed as Federer did. However, Roddick did mention being less nervous as the tournament progressed.

Until his retirement in 2012, Roddick had some epic battles with Federer. Their most famous match was the 2009 Wimbledon final which the Swiss maestro won 16-14 in the fifth set.

In fact, the duo played 24 matches against each other, with Federer having a lopsided 21-3 advantage in their head-to-head meetings. Despite being rivals, the duo are good friends off-court and often support each other’s charity foundation.

Now, Federer is focusing on the 2021 Wimbledon Championships and has withdrawn from the upcoming Monte Carlo Masters to regain match fitness. The 20-time Grand Slam champion made a comeback on the tour last month after a hiatus of over 12 months.