"Andre Agassi's my idol, but I have a hard time being in Steffi Graf's presence without being incredibly starstruck" - Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick has opened up about his profound admiration for tennis legend Steffi Graf, saying that he finds it difficult to even be in her presence without being awestruck.
Graf stepped in for Roddick as Andre Agassi's partner for the recently held Pickleball Slam 2. The duo successfully defended Agassi and Roddick's victory from last year, completing a 4-0 sweep against Maria Sharapova and John McEnroe to secure the $1 million prize purse.
Speaking on the latest episode of the 'Served with Andy Roddick' pocast, Roddick disclosed that he traded his pickleball paddle for a commentary role this year. The American expressed his enjoyment of the event, and his delight at witnessing Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf back in action and making public appearances.
"I don't think it [pickleball] is going anywhere. It was fun. Frankly, those events are amazing for me because you have people in a room, whether it's Andre and Steff, who are in kind of like full go mode again. They're just doing stuff, which is amazing," he said (at 7:05).
The former World No. 1 then revealed that while Agassi had long been his idol, it was being in Graf's presence that left him truly starstruck. Roddick hilariously confessed that being around the 22-time Grand Slam champion made him feel like everything he said was utterly "idiotic."
"Like I've known Andre and he's been my idol for a long time but I have a hard time being in Steff's presence without being like incredibly starstruck. Which, in the tennis world, at this moment in my life, not too sound jaded, I don't get that way around many people in our orbit anymore, having lived this life for a little while," he said.
"And Steff is like a huge exception, I can't be around around her without feeling like everything I say is just idiotic, which it might be, I'm just more conscious of it," he added.
"Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf are like 'We're empty-nesters now, we can go do stuff'" - Andy Roddick on their participation in Pickleball Slam 2
Tennis journalist Jon Wertheim, who joined Andy Roddick on the podcast, suggested that Steffi Graf's decision to withdraw from the public eye had impacted her legacy, diminishing the recognition for her extraordinary accomplishments.
"Go back and look at what she [Steffi Graf] did. My theory is that she suffers a great deal for not being in the public eye. If she were on broadcast or coaching or doing the speaking rounds, it would be one thing," Wertheim said (at 7:54).
"She's made a conscientious choice and I think it's really admirable, like, 'I'm done with being a public figure. I want to go to Home Depot and not be recognized,' and I think that has really impacted her legacy. It's a joke what she achieved but I feel like, because she's not front and center, by her own choice, maybe we don't give her her dues," he added.
Wertheim also expressed his hope that Pickleball Slam 2 would serve as a precursor to the German making more public appearances.
"Great to see both her and Andre back. If this a prelude to more public appearances, that's great, we welcome her," he said.
Roddick then revealed that he had discussed this matter with Andre Agassi. He said that with Agassi and Steffi Graf's children, Jaden and Jaz, now grown and out of the house, they had the newfound opportunity to engage more publicly.
"I was lucky enought to hang out and have a beer with him [Andre Agassi] last night and that's always fun. But it's pretty simple, they're like, 'We're empty-nesters now, we can go do stuff. I can go to Australia,'" Roddick said.