No holds barred: Andy Roddick’s honest verdict on Lleyton Hewitt and Juan Martin del Potro

Andy Roddick put together an impressive tennis career, but it’s hard not to think about what he might have accomplished if he hadn’t played during one of the most stacked eras in the sport’s history.

The American, who was once ranked world number one and won a major title, spent much of his time on tour having to go through Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray to reach the top.

He did win the US Open in 2003 but fell short in four other Grand Slam finals and five semifinals.

While those four were his biggest obstacles, others gave him trouble too, including Juan Martin Del Potro and Lleyton Hewitt. Speaking recently on ‘Served’, Roddick spoke about his matchups with both Del Potro and Hewitt.

Roddick explains why he struggled against Del Potro & Hewitt

Even though their styles were different from some of the other top players of that era, they caused him plenty of issues on court. He opened up about why he found those matchups particularly tough.

Roddick said: “Hewitt, I’ve said, like, I’m effusive. Now, I think we ended up the same, seven and seven, I lost a bunch early, and then won some later.

“One of the most stressful players that I’ll ever play just because he made you stay there mentally and physically every time you knew he was not going away. You had to beat him. He was never gonna go away. Like, so he was unbelievable.

“Talent wise, like, in our generation, the person who probably matched the Big Three talent wise, you know, but, he would tell you not like, not the discipline, you know he’s like the coolest person alive, is Safin.

“He was like, the first one of those, people like ‘Oh, you know, the first one who is tall and moved. I’m like, ‘No, no, I’d like a word, please. No, no, we had one. Safin, 6’4, 6’5, and, like, could run like he could, and they had the talent in his hands. And, you know, he would beat them sometimes.

“Del Potro? Like, you want to talk about what could have been? Like, and I saw him a couple weeks ago in Brazil, but, like, they didn’t want to play him. That wasn’t fun for them. He beat them.

“Del Potro is an animal. I hope nobody ever, ever, ever forgets how good Del Potro is, was. He won a slam, but, you know, his level was like, obviously not the big three, but, like, if you’re talking Wawrinka or like… I mean, he’s that guy, for sure.

“Like, no one should ever forget about how good he was. 6’7 too by the way. Animal.”

How Roddick fared against Del Potro and Hewitt

Roddick and Hewitt met 14 times over their careers, with the head-to-head ending in a dead heat at seven wins each. Hewitt dominated early on, winning six of their first seven meetings, three of which came at Grand Slam events.

Roddick got his first win over the Australian at Queen’s Club in 2004, and then followed it up with a strong run in 2005. He won six consecutive matches against Hewitt, including victories in Cincinnati, the US Open, Memphis (twice), Queen’s Club and Wimbledon.

Their final meeting was at the 2012 Australian Open, where Roddick had to retire due to injury. Against Del Potro, Roddick struggled more. He managed just one win from five meetings with the Argentine.

Their lone win came in Memphis during the 2011 season. Del Potro took four of their other matchups to hold a clear advantage overall.

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