Jannik Sinner’s ‘intimidating’ trait ‘a problem for the rest’, says Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick believes Jannik Sinner shares one key quality with tennis great Roger Federer as he warned that the Italian’s desire to improve is bad news for the rest of the players on the ATP Tour.
Sinner finished the Grand Slam season the way he started as he followed up his Australian Open title in January with the US Open trophy at Flushing Meadows.
The world No 1 brushed Taylor Fritz aside in straight sets in the final and amidst the celebrations, he also discussed ways to improve, something that former world No 1 Roddick feels is “intimidating”.
“To hear Sinner talk about himself ‘I don’t volley that well’. All he talked about post-US Open was [the] process and how he can’t wait to get back to the process. That is intimidating in its own way. It seems like he is low stress,” he said on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast.
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Roddick was in the locker room at Arthur Ashe Stadium before Sunday’s final and he was amazed by the 23-year-old’s relaxed demeanour as he compared it to that of 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer.
“I said hello to him [Sinner] because you walk in the locker room and my locker is like way to the right but he takes up kind of that centre area right before you gotta make a move left or right in the men’s locker room,” he added.
“Darren [Cahill] was there and Andre [Agassi] was there and at that point it would have been like I was just being a d**k if I didn’t say hello to all of them.
“I had never met Jannik Sinner before in my life. Like 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 like being in someone’s way when they’re getting ready for a match or something.
“But he [Sinner] is the most relaxed person I’ve ever seen besides 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 like 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.”
