Andy Roddick compares Jannik Sinner to Roger Federer after being impressed by Italian's calm demeanour before US Open final

Andy Roddick recently expressed his admiration for the calmness displayed by Jannik Sinner before his match against Taylor Fritz in the final of the 2024 US Open. Roddick drew parallels between the Italian and Roger Federer's composure.

Sinner entered the New York Major following a strong quarterfinal performance at the 2024 Canadian Open, where he was eventually defeated by the runner-up, Andrey Rublev. He then claimed the title at the Cincinnati Open after defeating Frances Tiafoe 7-6(4), 6-2 in the final.

At the US Open, the World No.1 was the top seed and he secured his place in the final by defeating Mackenzie McDonald, Alex Michelsen, Christopher O'Connell, and Tommy Paul in the first four rounds respectively, Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals and Jack Draper in the semifinals.

At the championship match, Jannik Sinner triumphed over 12th seed Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 to win the 2024 US Open, his second Grand Slam title of the season and his career.

During a recent episode of the "Served with Andy Roddick" podcast, Roddick shared that he had an encounter with Sinner in the locker rooms before the men's singles final at the 2024 US Open. Roddick said he had greeted the Italian and his coach Darren Cahill and Andre Agassi.

“I said hello to him [Jannik Sinner] ‘cause you walk in the locker room and my locker is like way to the right but he takes up kind of that centre area right before you gotta make a move left or right in the men’s locker room. Darren [Cahill] was there and Andre [Agassi] was there and at that point it would have been like I was just being a d*ck if I didn't say hello to all of them,”Roddick said [1:10:06].

The former US Open champion revealed that before this encounter, he had never met Jannik Sinner.

“I had never met Jannik Sinner before in my life. Like I don’t know a lot of the players ‘cause I’m not at all the tournaments. I said hello quickly and then got out of the way ‘cause my biggest fear ever is like being in someone’s way when they’re getting ready for a match or something,” he added [1:10:26].

Andy Roddick also expressed admiration for Sinner's "relaxed" demeanor, comparing it to that of Roger Federer before a Grand Slam final.

“But he [Sinner] is the most relaxed person I’ve ever seen beside of Roger [Federer] before a Slam final. It feels like he has this very quiet confidence about the way that he goes about things. Even his celebrations aren’t like for anyone else, it’s like this relief like okay and you feel like he was ready to start again like an hour after the US Open, which is a problem for the rest of the earth,” Andy Roddick said [1:10:38].

Jannik Sinner on winning US Open 2024: “I'm just excited to have this trophy with me”

Speaking after his win over Taylor Fritz in the final of the 2024 US Open, Jannik Sinner expressed that winning the New York Major meant a lot to him.

“This title for me means so much. There is my team who supports me every day, the people who are close to me. The work never stops. I know I can still improve . But you have to be proud with what you have and the rest you have to work for it. I can't wait for my continued process,” Sinner said .

Sinner stated that his journey at Flushing Meadows was a gradual process of self-improvement and growing confidence, which culminated in his title win.

“I feel like I have grown match by match and that my confidence level went higher and higher at some point. I'm happy how I handled this one. I'm just excited to have this trophy with me,” he added .

Jannik Sinner will next compete at the 2024 Shanghai Masters, which is scheduled to take place from October 2 to 13 and will feature players such as Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and Alexander Zverev.