Andy Roddick Quotes

"Yeah, there's a lot of strategy talk. It's not so much like, If you're down 6-4, 6-0, 2-0. We didn't really talk about that. Oops."
-- Andy Roddick on his strategy with coach Jimmy Connors after losing to Roger Federer in the Australian Open semifinals.

"Whatever I said last year, just copy it. I'm sure it still fits."
-- Andy Roddick speaking with the media after losing in the first round at the 2006 French Open.

"He seems like he's moving farther and farther back in the court for the most part, which I don't think is a winning solution for him. You need binoculars to see him sometimes."
-- John McEnroe on Andy Roddick playing on clay.

"I don't care if I win another match for the rest of the year, if we can hold up that (Davis) Cup, I really don't care. That's probably the one time of the year where you can say that and be that selfless and mean it."
-- Andy Roddick after helping the U.S. advance into the Davis Cup semifinals.

"It comes from playing like s**t. Why would I feel confident right now? If that was the case, I don't think we'd be sitting here having this funeral-like press conference. It's just weird because, I used to like hit for a half hour and then go eat Cheetos the rest of the day, come out and drill forehands. Now I'm really trying to make it happen, being professional, really going for it, and I miss my Cheetos."
-- Andy Roddick speaking with reporters on the source of his frustration and lack of confidence after his loss to Igor Andreev at Indian Wells.

"I would like to see it. We're the only sport out there without a players' rep and we have no one going to business meetings for us and a lot of that doesn't make sense to me but, like I said, I could be talking out of complete ignorance here if I kind of go into that any further."
-- Andy Roddick on unionizing men's tennis.

"We have technology of cameras at every single angle. Let's take the human element out. Umpires get nervous just like we do. So, if it's there, why not use it? Plus it would be fun. Can you imagine if you had a flag in your bag that you could throw for an instant replay once or twice a set? It would add a whole 'nother element of excitement to it."
-- Andy Roddick on the Hawk-Eye line-calling and replay technology that tournaments are slow to adopt.

"As good as anybody not named Roger."
-- Andy Roddick on his chances at the US Open.

"Roger Federer has a physical and mental advantage over everybody. He's doing to tennis what Tiger Woods did to golf a few years ago. He is making us all improve."
-- Andy Roddick.

"Last time I came here I went to see the (Red Hot) Chilli Peppers in concert and this time I will be going to see U2. I don't think about tennis 24/7. I enjoy time on the lake at my Florida home and just being lazy on the sofa."
-- Andy Roddick on his Wimbledon fortnight, speaking to The Guardian.

"If anything, for the first time in my career I've been getting tight a couple of times because I'm more committed. It's not so free and easy and I like the way that feels."
-- Andy Roddick on getting inspired by his chokes as he falls down the rankings.

"Yeah, I couldn't get cell phone service in the stadium this morning."
-- Andy Roddick when asked if anything was not working today in the final of the ATP stop in San Jose.

"You said it, I didn't. I can't think of anything funny to say that would not get me in trouble. I'm going to leave that one alone."
-- Andy Roddick, replying to a media question as to whether the new long pants worn this year by some of the Spaniards and other players are "too metrosexual."

"I look at it as we're the underdogs. I don't know if anybody is expecting a lot from us."
-- Andy Roddick, attempting to lower expectations and soften the blow before he and clay neophyte Mardy Fish travel to the slaughterhouse the Spaniards have constructed in Seville for the Davis Cup final.

"If I'd known it was going to be this cold, I wouldn't have done it."
-- Andy Roddick on his new short haircut at the Masters Cup in Houston.

"Neither will you."
-- Andy Roddick during an on-line ESPN-sponsored chat answering the accusation "...you suck and you will never win a major again so what do you have to say about that?"

"Maybe it's just a coincidence that I break the record in every Davis Cup."
-- A smirking Andy Roddick in his Davis Cup post-match conference on the friendly speed gun used by the USTA.

"More than anything I'm just disappointed for them. It's just about getting over the hump in the Slams, you know? I had trouble early on too...I think it's just a matter of breaking through, and hopefully it will happen for them sooner rather than later."
-- Andy Roddick on "B"-level Americans Mardy Fish, Taylor Dent, James Blake and crew.

"Rod-dick...I had years of psychological issues with that."
-- Andy Roddick.

"Baah?"
-- Andy Roddick's answer to the question "What letter in the English language sounds like a female sheep" on the British "Weakest Link".

"Hey -- you guys with the ladder. If you come here I'll buy you pizza."
-- Andy Roddick, calling out to firefighters in the process of rescuing Roddick and other hotel guests from a fire in Rome.

When I was a kid, it was challenging to find out when and where you could find tennis on TV."
-- Andy Roddick on the "US Open Series" of summer hardcourt events and their new TV package. How things haven't changed in the last 10 years.

"When you make the schedule, you're not planning on playing deep into every single week, or at least I haven't in the past. I'm not physically or mentally ready to pick up my bags and go to Monte Carlo. I definitely have to look at what's best for my chances at (at the French Open)."
-- Andy Roddick on pulling from the Masters Series-Monte Carlo the night before the tournament began.

"He [Vince Spadea] was about as down and out as you could see from a Top 20 player. Then to claw his way back through the minor leagues and do it the hard way where he wasn't young, wasn't getting wildcards, wasn't getting any help. I guess he decided he was just going to do it."
-- Andy Roddick, thinking hard about his take on the rebirth of Vince Spadea. Don't hurt yourself.

"I'd like just one time to see you guys step up and do something for us."
-- Andy Roddick venting on ATP Supervisor Gayle Bradshaw after getting no love from the chair umpire at the ATP Scottsdale event.

"No matter how good an athlete you are. You are going to need something to help, like vitamins. I'm not talking something crazy. When this question was asked at a player meeting, we got a 'We don't have that much for you, you're responsible for what you put in your body.' There's something that doesn't quite fit there. Right now it's kind of a rough situation because it's impossible to do what we do 46 weeks a year on water."
-- Andy Roddick, slamming the ATP for a lack of leadership regarding supplements for players.

"I was tested 17 or 18 times last year...If there really were 47 positive drugs tests, then a third of the tour would have been announced. I think those are just numbers."
-- Andy Roddick on Greg Rusedski's claim that the ATP ignored other positive drug tests. As Butt-head said to Beavis, "I Hate numbers." Beavis: "Yeah, there's like, too many of them and stuff."

"We know our territory, where we can go to have a good time, what places we'll get mobbed at, and where we can go to relax. We're both homebodies, so we spend a lot of time at each other's place watching movies."
-- Andy Roddick on him and girlfriend Mandy Moore, as told to the Boca News.

"It's almost been scripted with Juan Carlos [Ferrero] winning on clay, Roger [Federer] winning on grass, me winning in the States -- it's kind of been almost a fairy tale year for us. But only one of us gets to finish on a fairy tale. I think it's nice for all of us, and it's a big relief for all of us. Even though we're pretty young, people are already starting to say, 'When's it gonna happen? When's it gonna happen? Why? Why? Why?' It's a big relief now. I think all of our best tennis is ahead of us still."
-- Andy Roddick on the battle for the year-end No. 1 ranking this year. "Why? Why? Why?" Calm down Andy.

"The fact is that there are a hell of a lot of guys out there who give their heart and soul every time they go out on the court. They are clean and play by the rules. It would be cool if a lot more was focused on that."
-- Andy Roddick, who wants the media to accentuate the positive.

"There's a way to go about it. Like, if you're on a centre court TV match and you go up and say point-blank, 'fuck you,' that probably wouldn't fly too well. You're probably going to get fined. So you'd say it more like under your breath and hope they hear it but don't really quite hear it, if you know what I'm saying."
-- Heart-throb Andy Roddick on how to deal with chair umpires, speaking to Rolling Stone magazine.

"You're on live TV, you know. You look like a real moron right now."
-- The lovable Andy Roddick yelling at a chair umpire at Indianapolis.

"That's definitely my most improved shot from last year. I hit a backhand lob winner in the first game, and a backhand passing shot to break. And another one in the tiebreak. I couldn't hit a backhand into the ocean last year."
-- Andy Roddick on his improved weakness.

"I think we're both starting to hit our stride a little bit -- him more so. He's obviously won his first Slam. But he's gone 'win, win, final' and now he's in the semis again and I've gone 'win, semi, win,' and I'm in the semis again. I think over the past couple of months we're a couple of the top players."
-- Andy Roddick trying to do the math in his budding rivalry with Roger Federer, with the players winning a combined five titles in the last three months.

"He's been great. We've been getting along really well. He's always super positive about things. He does his homework. He loves watching matches, scouting opponents. We're just getting along well. We're very relaxed together all the time. It's not too intense, which is a change of pace and it seems to be working so far. A lot of it is just strategy going into matches and maybe helping me with how to think in certain situations, you know, on court not trying to blast my way out of every situation, showing me that there's a different way to win or lose a match."
-- Andy Roddick praising coach Brad Gilbert and throwing some subtle shots at former coach Tarik Benhabiles.

"He's got to jump out of an airplane with me...I've been four times, but he's got to go with me. He's scared to look off the second floor balcony downstairs. So it should be fun. He might mess his pants or something. This is going to be good stuff...I don't know [when it will happen]. Call 1-800-sky-dive tomorrow and see if they have a place close to Cincy, who knows?"
-- Andy Roddick on winning his bet with coach Brad Gilbert after winning the TMS-Canada.

"I mean, that was a big reason, kind of what he did with Andre. You know, Andre was kind of in the same position I'm in right now when he and Brad got together. You know, granted, he had already won his first Slam, but he was kind of struggling. People were saying, 'Well, what's he going to do? Is he just going to go by the wayside, or is he going to step it up and become a great player?' Anything that I'm going to encounter in the next six, seven, eight years, Brad's already seen before and it's not going to be any new surprise for him."
-- Andy Roddick, likening himself to Andre Agassi and talking long-tern about coach Brad Gilbert.

"I was happy to get to (No.) 4 because Brad, that was what he had on me -- 'Yeah, yeah, I was 4 in the world, you're only 5.' So he's lost that line this week."
-- Andy Roddick after moving up to the No. 4 ranking, tying coach Brad Gilbert's career best.

"Every time I lose, it's a coaching change. I love it. You guys just won't quit. No, I mean, my coach didn't lose the match. You know, he's smart. I'm the one losing the matches. He's not losing them. You know, when we're doing well, we're the perfect fit and we've been together for four years. When I lose a match, it's time for a coaching change. I think, you know, the results lie in my hands. He's a smart guy. He's been around the block many times. But there's not much you can do from the stands when your player's playing like crap." -- Andy Roddick getting agitated with the press at the suggestion of a coaching change after his opening-round loss at Roland Garros.

"I definitely think the European weather has more of a factor than the European clay. I think the European weather changes from week to week, I mean, last year it was sunny and hot and this week it's kind of playing tricks on us a little bit. I definitely think that is a factor." -- Andy Roddick explaining why he has stunk up the Euro clay circuit this year: going to the bad weather card.

"I'm still missing that little something." -- Andy Roddick after losing first round on clay at the TMS-Monte Carlo. Like, a backhand?

"The difference between me and them is that I bring it week in and week out. They get a big win, then lose to somebody they shouldn't. But they're starting to move up. It would be nice to have some company." -- The shy Andy Roddick on why he is better than the other American up-and-comers.

"It's pretty high up there on the list. Being able to return a serve at that speed is one of the biggest things that separates the professionals from the recreational players." -- Andy Roddick on returning a 130mph serve in USA Today's "10 Hardest Things to do In Sports" full-page feature on Tuesday. The feat was ranked No. 5.

"What didn't he do well today? I hit a second serve at 129 mph he chipped and charged off of. He hasn't broken into the Top 20 yet but it's coming. I think he should definitely be up there." -- Andy Roddick after winning five games off of Taylor Dent in the Memphis final.

"Brian didn't have much to lose. We practice together so we know each other well. I started to loosen up a bit and started to play better. I do better when I don't like someone!" -- Andy Roddick after beating Brian Vahaly in Memphis.

"My backhand is definitely a lot more solid and consistent. There were times when I couldn't hit it into the ocean." -- Andy Roddick in Memphis.

"I've become better at the net. I've got a 135 mph serve so I'd be stupid not to follow that in. Overall I'm a better player than I was last year." -- Andy Roddick in Memphis.

"Grow a spine!" -- Andy Roddick shouting at the chair umpire during his quarterfinal win

"No, if I wore a sleeveless shirt, people would try to feed me after the match. If you got the guns, go for it. I got two breadsticks sticking out of my sleeve. I'll stick with sleeves." -- Andy Roddick, when asked if he would be going with the sleeveless look made popular by James Blake at the Australian Open

"I'm just glad to see that Pete (Sampras) shut everyone up last year. That was satisfying. You can't bag on guys like Pete or Tiger (Woods) or Michael Jordan. They can play as long as they want, they can do whatever they want. Nobody should be able to tell them differently." -- Andy Roddick

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