Andy Roddick named the weakness he felt a young Rafael Nadal had following their first meeting at the US Open in 2004.
During his career the American played against the 22-time Grand Slam champion, as well as his former rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
He had varying levels of success against each of these players and in 2004, Roddick struggled against Federer and also competed against a 18-year-old Rafael Nadal.
They competed against one another for the first time at Flushing Meadows 21 years ago, and Roddick showed the teenager the level he had to reach, and he did just that in the years that followed.
What weakness did Andy Roddick think Rafael Nadal had at the 2004 US Open?
The first of Andy Roddick’s 10 matches against Nadal came at the 2004 US Open, when Nadal was unseeded and Roddick was number two in the world behind Federer.
The pair played in the second round and Roddick began by winning the first set without losing a game. Nadal improved his level but ultimately succumbed to a 0-6, 3-6, 4-6 defeat.
During his conversation with Nadal on his ‘Served’ podcast, Roddick pinpointed a weakness in Nadal’s game during that match, which the Spaniard would improve throughout his career.
“I remember after the US Open I said this kid is really good, he doesn’t serve big enough yet and I feel like I could bully him around the court.
“It’s a fast hard court, so I was thinking this is going to be a year, two years, and it took me 10 weeks to change my mind about you in a completely different way.
“We played at Davis Cup, they threw you in, at that point it was the largest crowd which had ever viewed a sanctioned tennis match and I remember walking out and it was at that point in my career, I had been in most situations, and you didn’t blink.
“It was as if there weren’t all these external situations going on. Head down and you made me win every point five and six times.
“I remember sitting down and thinking I need to find a way to get something earlier. My body is hurting, this kid’s body isn’t hurting. I walked off the court that time thinking this kid is going to be great.”
Rafael Nadal went on to have plenty of success at the US Open
Despite a tough outing in what was just his second US Open main draw appearance in 2004, Nadal went on to have plenty of success in New York.
He reached his first two semoi-finals in 2008 and 2009, before winning his first US Open title in 2010, beating Djokovic in the process.
This victory ensured Nadal became the youngest player to win all four Grand Slams at just 24 years of age.
Nadal once again defeated Djokovic to claim his second US Open trophy in 2013, and he became a three-time champion at Flushing Meadows four years later.
Nadal’s fourth and final US Open win came in 2019, and lifted the title following an epic five-set victory against Daniil Medvedev.
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