Andy Roddick has once again been offering his insight into the world of tennis, chatting with Jon Wertheim about the state of tennis at the moment.
Unsurprisingly, their conversation was dominated by Indian Wells, with Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek crowned champions once again in emphatic fashion.
The two brushed aside their opponents in their respective finals, with the Spaniard overcoming Daniil Medvedev, whilst the 22-year-old star defeated Maria Sakkari in a repeat of the 2022 final in California.
However, it was Swiatek who truly caught Roddick’s eye, and has now sparked legendary comparisons.
What Andy Roddick said about Iga Swiatek
Speaking on his Served with Andy Roddick podcast, the 41-year-old was effusive in his praise for the Polish superstar, who has truly earned her place at the apex of women’s tennis.
In fact, there is even one key similarity that the American felt she shared with the legendary Rafael Nadal, as a pretty solid player to earn comparisons to.
He noted: ‘There’s not a lot of businesses where you lose your top five customers, your top five money-makers, Marvel at some point they’re going to keep remaking the story and they’re going to lose a couple of those, but tennis is in such a great spot right now and it’s weird because Swiatek is not the personality she wants to be in front of the microphone all the time, she wants to let her play do the work.
‘By virtue of all of this going on around, we’re going to pay more interest to her earlier on in her career than if it was just purely a crossover-based personality situation where someone’s thirsty, they have to self-promote themselves to get people to pay attention.
‘I love this moment for Swiatek, I like what you’re saying, the difference is she can struggle, she has not played great in four out of the last five Grand Slams, she always has… it feels like that Rafa [Nadal] thing where even if she struggles in majors, on a slow surface like Indian Wells, on a slow surface like Roland-Garros, she is going to continue to win.
‘You feel like it’s her vs the field at worst at Roland-Garros.’
Iga Świątek can shatter tennis records
Having demolished her Greek opponent in the Indian Wells final, it feels like Swiatek has returned to her brilliant best once again just in time for clay court season.
The WTA world number one disappointed in Melbourne, and despite having won two Grand Slam titles she has struggled in the last few majors, as Roddick noted.
And yet, there are still so many records for the youngster to shatter, such is her talent. A chance at defending her French Open crown now awaits, and it is a wonder how she receives any criticism at all given her stunning affable and play style.
There are few on tour who can compete with her monstrous forehand and remarkable athleticism, which she exhibited expertly in the California desert.
Now looking ahead to the Miami Open, she will be hoping to complete the Sunshine Double and add to her ever-growing list of elite honours.
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