Andy Roddick talks tradition, history and Murray in his Wimbledon preview with skysports.com.
Roddick talks tradition, history and Murray's chances in Wimbledon preview
Andy Roddick is relishing his latest Wimbledon appearance as a huge fan of the history and tradition at SW19, while he also told
skysports.com he understands the huge weight of pressure Andy Murray will feel at the tournament.
Roddick is a two-time finalist at the All England Club and has also reached the semis and quarters on two other occasions, and he views his annual trip to SW19 very fondly.
The 26-year-old is a big lover of the tradition and history that accompanies the tournament, but has also been impressed with the upgrades made in recent years - with this year a new roof on centre court being fully operational.
A US Open winner, American Roddick obviously enjoys his home Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows, but he is quick to spell out his love of Wimbledon.
"Obviously for me there's a slam in my home country so that's a big deal for me, but Wimbledon's a great event," Roddick told
skysports.com.
History
"I love playing there with all the history and traditions and everything, you really get a sense of the history of the place and it's always good fun.
"Hopefully it'll be sunny out next week so we won't need the roof! It's certainly a great addition though, the biggest benefit is seeing live tennis for the fans all the time, which is great.
"There's not really a lot to dislike about the tournament to be honest. I enjoy everything. They've done a great job keeping a lot of the traditions of the place but adding a lot, you still really get the overwhelming sense of history when you walk in the grounds."
Roddick's attempts at winning Wimbledon have been thwarted three times by a dominant Roger Federer - losing twice in the final and in one semi-final.
"Roger's got in the way of a lot of people though," says Roddick. "He's had a habit of doing that over the years."
New coach
Roddick does not have the best record against the top three in the world, but his form this year suggests he is narrowing the gap, thanks in part to new coach Larry Stefanki.
"My record's not great, but those are the best three players on the planet right now! And those are pretty much the only guys I've lost to this year," he added at the launch of EA SPORTS Grand Slam Tennis.
"He's (Stefanki) a big part of it. I'm in the best shape of my career, we had a pretty intense off-season. He's worked with a number of top level players and he knows all the players on tour inside out."
A huge serve used to be a must on the Wimbledon grass, but although A-Rod himself has a massive serve, he says conditions have now levelled out on the surface.
"The grass has become a lot slower at Wimbledon and I think the tournament can be won from the baseline now - you could see that last year with Rafa coming through.
"So you've seen the good returners coming through because the grass suits their serve, so I don't think it's one thing any more, you need to be more of an all-court player."
Murray mania
No talk of Wimbledon would pass without discussing Andy Murray's chances of finally ending Britain's 73-year wait for a men's tournament winner, and Roddick can understand the burden placed on a home hope at a grand slam - albeit slightly dialled down a notch.
"I can definitely relate a little bit to what he faces over here, but the difference is that the year before I won the US Open, Pete (Sampras) won it, so there wasn't this long drawn out anticipation, if you will, so that's one thing I didn't have to deal with," Roddick says with relief, although he feels Murray can deal with the pressure.
"He's certainly one of the favourites though. He's one of the most prepared coming off of his Queen's victory, he's very confident and I think he will win a slam - it's just a matter of when he does it."
Andy Roddick appears in EA SPORTS Grand Slam Tennis, the only tennis game to feature the Wimbledon Championships, out now for the Wii and incorporating Nintendo's new Wii MotionPlus¿ technology. For further information, please visit http://tennis.easports.com
