Andy Roddick issued the ultimate statement on Nick Kyrgios, comparing the Australian’s talent to the one that Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic possessed – and it all comes after the 2022 Wimbledon finalist appeared to make a doping allegation against the 2003 US Open winner.
For nearly a year now, the American tennis legend has been hosting a podcast. And because of Nadal’s retirement, topics surrounding the Big Three have been a frequent on the Served with Andy Roddick lately.
In the latest episode, the former world No. 1 mentioned Kyrgios as someone who was the closest to the Big Three in terms of talent and IQ for the game. And with that being said, the 42-year-old said it was a pity that the Australian was out of the game for the last two years, especially after a career-best season in 2022.
And not only that, but the former five-time Grand Slam finalist said he wouldn’t think twice if someone offered him to have the 29-year-old’s game.
“Kyrgios is great for the sport. I wish he was around more often. I’d love to see him in full flight committing to three years of the right decisions. He’s amazing. He’s one of the only guys I’ve seen that are on par with the big three in terms of talent. He has that much talent in his hands, in his tennis IQ, the way he sees the game. I would go back in a heartbeat without thinking twice if I could have his game and my ability to take pain. We would’ve been a good player,” the 2003 US Open champion said on the Served with Andy Roddick.
When Kyrgios was just 18, he famously stunned Nadal in his 2014 Wimbledon debut. The following year, he clinched a thriller three-set win over Federer. When he met Djokovic for the first time in 2017, he collected back-to-back wins in Acapulco and Indian Wells.
When the Australian was just starting his career, he was tipped to win multiple Majors and reach the world No. 1 spot. And in 2022, he came very close to becoming a Slam winner but fell just short to Djokovic in the Wimbledon final.
Then, very unfortunate knee and wrist injuries happened and that limited the 29-year-old to just one tournament during the 2023 and 2024 seasons. However, he is slated to return to action in the first week of 2025 in Brisbane.
Nick Kyrgios© Nick Kyrgios/Instagram – Fair Use
Kyrgios made a strong comment about Roddick just a few days earlier
On his podcast, the American tennis legend defended Iga Swiatek after some questioned her explanation for a failed doping test. In the 42-year-old’s eyes, it was just “an unfortunate situation.”
“I can’t call it doping. It’s like taking a melatonin for jet lag at 2:30 in the morning in Cincy… Think about how many things had to go wrong for Iga Swiatek to get popped for melatonin and something that was contaminated. It’s just unfortunate for her obviously. A negative test in Paris at the Olympics, negative tests in New York. So this isn’t some ongoing thing,” Roddick said.
“It just sucks. It just sucks ’cause the headlines people will say, the dumbest people in our sports, ‘Ah, doping!’ I’ve taken melatonin before. Who’s to say ours weren’t contaminated and are we going to continue to clutch pearls about one billionth of a gram of something or contaminated melatonin that didn’t have any performance enhancement.”
During the summer, Roddick described some of the conspiracy theories about the Jannik Sinner case as “psychotic.”
And after the American shared his honest opinion on the Swiatek doping case, one X user wasn’t impressed by it and made a very strong comment: “Why is Roddick so much pro doping in tennis!? What the hell!? With all the doping defending, one would’ve to think that Roddick must had a magical cream on his own during his playing career. There isn’t any other logical explanation.”
— Fifi (@FiFizolw) December 3, 2024
Kyrgios – who didn’t really seem to accept the Pole’s explanation – responded to that since-deleted post by agreeing with that claim: “Hahah most likely.”
Hahaha most likely https://t.co/ogFgYaNxAw
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) December 3, 2024
During his pro career – which lasted 12 years – the three-time Wimbledon finalist never failed a doping test. And because of that, some felt that the Australian went too far with his comment on X.
However, Roddick remailed silent on that one and didn’t want to address it, at least not publicly yet. On the other side,
Tennis World USA