Andy Roddick on Andre Agassi, Billie Jean King’s Influence, World TeamTennis

Hey, everybody? This is Fred roshani of TSC News here to present you guys with a special interview our buddy Alan woo did our buddy Alan woo on Tuesday night had the opportunity to cover the Milan world team tennis league, which features six teams competing for the King trophy named after league co-founder the legend Billie Jean King and Alan had the opportunity to speak to one of the participants of the New York Empire tennis team who was victorious in doubles none other than tennis. Great Andy Roddick. So, sit back, relax and check it out Andy Roddick empire tonight is the marquee player. I lost me playing tomorrow night more questions ten years ago know if you could believe it yet, but it was haunted by a swimming and I was probably sentimental to you a little yeah.

You played back to the next round? What are your memories from that’s one. Yeah voluntaries last tournament specifically as it pertains to it being andre’s last tournament. It was weird for me because for a couple of reasons if we had both won our third round matches. We would have played fourth round, which is a match. I didn’t want to be a part of for a lot of reasons, you know, he was a big mentor to me and kind of walk in that line between. Okay, I’m in good form. And I can make a run here and kind of finishing off one of your idols and icon in the game.

I didn’t want that emotional tug of war, but at the same time I didn’t want Andre to lose to Becker that he did and then and I remember him coming in after that match and it being very emotional in the locker room kind of all standing up and crowding around him and giving him a plause in the novation and you know, you want to be a part of that. But then you’re still trying to focus. I was on the next match on stadium shows. I was conflicted in a lot of emotions, but I certainly kind of had a very close view of the entire thing.

And it was it would I think the biggest thing was kind of everyone in that locker room got the gravity of what was happening and you know, I think the ultimate was a respect is from the guys inside the locker room in your peers and kind of them all laying back and realizing a special moment. I that was cool to me. So when you beat back to the next round to your mind wander, I’m Jack. No, no, I mean, honestly, did it was an easy much easier match not even just from a tennis standpoint. But once I was a little bit relieved when becker beat Andre selfishly from purely from a my tournament 06 you must open a perspective it became a lot easier mentally and emotionally once once Becker went out, but I didn’t really think about it much once Andre was gone.

And when I was in the match of the tiger. What is it play at this stadium. Yeah, you know, I’m a big tennis historian huge sports fan, you know? So in the last month I’ve had to kind of bucket-list things in tennis. I don’t have a lot of first left as far as playing certain places and seeing certain things, but I got to play at Newport at the Hall of Fame the tennis hall of fame for the first time last month and then they kind of play here a month later is a big deal to me. I know the last time I played here was 1977, you know, you kind of think that people that paved the way for that a gigantic stadium not too far for me or the foundation was laid at this place.

So, it’s certainly fun to see fun to be a part of and at least I can say I played there once yeah. I mean, it’s I think I got the most benefit and I saw kind of that team dynamic when I was a young player coming up when I was 17 before I even had a ranking ebony any sort Billie Jean kind of gave me a shot with a team. That was in Idaho at the time. And for me to be able to play at that time I think it was 13 matches in three weeks against pro players and to win. Most of them that gave me huge competence and then going into that summer I played well, being a couple top 40 guys and played well on the main tour.

But I think that was a huge stepping stone for me. So, you know, I’ll kind of forever sing the praises of this league because it did make such an impact on me when I was when I was younger and you talk about the team aspect being able to kind of playing the tennis against the pros is one thing but being, you know, in Vienna buses picking the brains of people who are actually on tour and older, you know, at that point, you know, 26 27 was a decade older than I was at that point, so to kind of have, you know, a first row seat to be able to ask questions and see how they went about.

It was invaluable to me this had a kid, you got that whole stance toward what I should form a salir entire play here’s the friend? Yeah, we can’t make the court shorter. I play a lot on the PowerShares series as well as worth world team tennis. The toughest thing it’s tough to draw parallels with golf just based on the physicality of tennis. You know, I think in golf less is more sometimes as far as the dynamics of a golf swing. And you know, if you can putt you can play tennis. It gets pretty physical, you know, so I, you know, you see my friend Marty fish played in this last week and, you know, knock on wood.

He started off great. He was up a, you know winning his singles match against a guy ranked 40, but then popped something his foot and Andre went down earlier this year. And so I think it’s a probably a bigger physical ask that being said, I there probably is a happy medium, you know, how you want to define it and what could be done is a would probably take a little bit longer than we have for this conversation, ok question. We know about your foundation what it does, but how did you get started what made you do that in all your the Charter practice. Well, it’s twofold one was Andre was a pretty significant person in that.

But I do want to give credit to kind of the history of the people we’ve had in tennis. You know, this is Billie jean’s league, but were you see the biggest people in your games, whether it’s Billie Jean Arthur Ashe what hundra’s done to the Charter School landscape in Vegas what Rogers doing for UNICEF. It’s giving back as kind of in the fabric of tennis. And the best people of all time and the best players of all time have done and have done their fair share. So, you know, if you’re around a brother who does something my brother played tennis. And I gravitated towards it.

If you’re around enough the icons and they’re doing group, you know, important things outside of tennis you probably gravitate towards it. So, you know, I’m probably a bit of a product of kind of a culture that was created by the legends of the game myself, let’s do bird. Wow. I think someone’s allowed to have a great result without it being called a fluke, you know, I it doesn’t happen by accident. But I will say, you know, the if you want to equate our young tennis prospect respects to a farm system in baseball. I think it’s as good as its looked in 15 or 20 years, you know, maybe since myself Marty and Jeanette brie and James and you know, degree about three of us Lana in the top ten and you know, had kind of varying levels of success.

So, I’d say the farm system in US tennis is has me as excited where I don’t feel like I’m you know, selling you dirt in a sandbox by talking about it. I think there. I think it’s we have really strong young prospects. And I think the more important thing is I think there’s more than just a couple. I think there’s seven or eight deep, which is good who created healthy jealousy, you know, one has a good week. The guy goes, wait a minute just beat that guy last week like it what you know, and that’s in that in the history of us tennis whether it’s Paula Terry’s from the 80s and we had a small group in the 2000s, but it’s you know, kind of competitiveness and in a healthy jealousy.

I think always always win. So, I’m actually excited about what it’s going to look like in five years. We look, I know Reuben M to see them. I’ve see I’ve seen him a little bit. Yeah, you know, I know he went to school for a year and you know, I think he wants it and by all means. I haven’t seen him play enough to give you an answer that deserves your time. I from everything I’ve heard having he’s very diligent and profession about the way he goes about it and competes well, so that’s a you know, it’s a significant part of the battle I haven’t seen it yet now.

And I wasn’t there last year. So, I’m curious to see it my answer again. It’s how you want to go to about it. If I was in charge of the US Open, I would have built a roof as a player. I like the elements the win it used to be the windiest court on earth and the flag at the top of the stadium would always blow opposite of the way the wind was blowing when it got down the court level. So no one I’ve ever played out there before and you were playing him. It was worth a break early on, you know, so little things like that.

I like and I thought were part of the fabric of the tournament. I also understand the dynamic of business and sports and you need live content when you’ve paid for live content. So, they have to have something on the television. So the US Open will be better for having the roof. I’m sorry, sir. She could you this tournament that custom is the difficulty. I think it’s great. I think it’s a you know, I think it’s good. I think the players can be a little bit more interactive, you know, I think it’s kind of in-your-face for two-plus hours of entertainment. You have tennis as broadcast on normal TV sometimes it gets pretty long if you want to dial in and watch a couple matches and a this is a little bit more in your face.

And, you know, I think it’s nice to have different options with viewing and it in tennis. And you know, I think you get a little bit more up close and personal here. There’s probably some more access in a league like world team tennis, which is great. You know, so, it’s I’ve always enjoyed it the Olympics going on right now, when you played was that something that positively or negatively affected your game stopping as far as your level of tennis and logistics. It’s difficult, you know, I think in your, you know, I’m gonna be selfish and be able to say it doesn’t fit in the context of a tennis year and say I was also also very honored and very proud to have been in Olympia, you know, you can have it both ways.

And it’s not a matter of convenience, but you know, I think the athletes can make the decisions for themselves. They’re adults. I don’t think there’s a right answer for everybody. You know, it’s just a matter of what you hold, you know, as a priority. You know, I think some guys have done well, doing it all and some guys do better when they kind of come part mentalize and are able to focus on different segments of schedules. So, it’s tough in a calendar that, you know is without the Olympics it’s tough to fund enough weeks in the year for all the events. And so when you add a huge event like that on a, you know that far away.

It’s hard last night you’ve had a year or so in the bag for Fox Sports live on swimming one day if you had the opportunity to go back into television. And do whatever it is a commentary little comedy would you give that a shot again. So coming stand-up routine. I never say never I loved what the opportunity. I was afforded at Fox. I mean, I got you know, on-the-job training from, you know, live television, you know, breaking news, you know, sports that I didn’t play, you know podcasts live radio filling. So IIIi don’t know that I would have had a better training room to be a broadcaster than then add Fox with all those different things doing one-on-one sit-down interviews also and they were pretty good about just throwing me into the fire from something.

I’d never done before they go. Okay, we’ll figure it out and you know, sometimes you did sometimes you didn’t, but I’m happy for the experience. I don’t know what the future holds as far as broadcasting for me, you know, nothing on the immediate horizon. But I certainly enjoyed it who’s your favorite of flesh with you. My favorite pressure you do a plenty of them the guy who leaves available after the match.