Andy Roddick has slammed anyone who makes pre-draw predictions – like Alexander Zverev. The German gave his thoughts about the French Open earlier this week and predicted Rafael Nadal to do well at his favourite tournament. That was before he found out today he’ll be facing the Spaniard in a mouth-watering first-round tie at Roland Garros. Roddick feels any previews done prior to the draw being made are a waste of time.
Speaking on his podcast Served with Andy Roddick, the American tennis legend argued: “Anybody who does any sort of preview show before the draw is out is completely full of s***. ‘I think Rafa’s going to get the to the quarters’.
“Oh yeah, what if he plays [Carlos] Alcaraz first round? Like anyone who spends time previewing or making predictions, outside of like ‘ok Iga [Swiatek]’s probably going to win so I don’t care about the draw’, she’s like immune to a lot of the conversation.
“But if you’re doing like ‘I think Rafa’s gonna make the semis’ – you don’t know who he’s going to f***ing play. So that’s an impossible thing to say with any sort of confidence.”
Zverev’s comments on Djokovic and, in particular, Nadal, only served to highlight Roddick’s point after the German backed the 22-time Grand Slam champion to supersede his performances in Madrid and Rome – where he failed to make it beyond the round of 16 and second round respectively – only to be drawn against him in the first round.
Speaking after claiming victory at the Rome Open, Zverev said: “Nole is going to be at his best level, you’ll see, that’s how he is.
“Rafa will play much better than in Madrid and Rome, I’m sure of that. As for Jannik [Sinner] and Carlos, it depends on their health. If they are well, they are two of the best players in the world, there’s no doubt about it. I saw that Jannik uploaded a photo training, so I guess he’s feeling good on the court.”
Australian Open champ Sinner has been suffering with a right hip injury which saw him withdraw from Rome, while Alcaraz missed out altogether as he continued to deal with a right forearm issue.
Djokovic has proved inconsistent in recent months. And men’s record-holder Nadal, who’s likely making his final Roland Garros ahead of his expected retirement at the end of the year, has his work cut out for him to get past fourth seed Zverev.
