"Federer, Nadal and Djokovic were almost impossible to beat in the big tournaments" - Andreas Seppi discusses the GOAT debate, his retired life & more
In a career spannning nearly two decades, Andreas Seppi was the consummate pro. The Italian peaked at No 18 in the world rankings and won 3 ATP singles titles during his career, scoring wins over the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. But his biggest achievment may very well have been his longevity and his consistency.
Seppi played in 66 consecutive Grand Slams - the third longest streak in men's tennis history before finally hanging up his racket at the end of the 2022 season. Sportskeeda caught up with the father-of-two to talk look back on his career, to look ahead to his future and many other things in between.
Exclusive Interview with Andreas Seppi
Sportskeeda: Hi Andreas, First of all, it's been a few months since you have retired from the sport. Can you tell us what your daily life is like these days? Do you miss being on the tour, especially with Wimbledon going on?
Andreas Seppi: Yes, especially the grass season was one of my favorite part of the season. Now seeing everybody playing there, I miss it a bit. But, it has been six really nice months with the family, my wife and my kids, one of them is three and the other is a year old now. So it's a great time to be around with them. I really enjoyed this time with them together. And I’m looking forward to what's coming next.
Sportskeeda: What do you miss most about being away from the game?
Andreas Seppi: I think it's more the competition, you know, the adrenaline going on the court and playing a match.. the atmosphere. That part I miss the most. Then of course traveling or the practice sessions maybe less. I think it's mostly the excitement and the adrenaline for preparing for a match, I guess.
Sportskeeda: Your fans would like want to know what you have been upto since your retirement. You have started a company (Pro Tennis Travel) related to tennis travel as well. Can you tell us more about that?
Andreas Seppi: We just finished that project, my wife, me and a friend of mine. We want to bring fans to the best tournaments in the world. We organize everything for them. It’s for tennis fans who want to have a different view of watching a match and being at the tournament. We would like to start with the US Open. We will also have a few things behind the scenes at the tournament. I will stay with them and watch the matches with them, maybe explain them about what's happening during a match from the player point of view. It's just for a small group, we want to do a maximum of eight people. And we’ll see how it goes.
Sportskeeda: In the future, do you see yourself getting into coaching or having a role with the Italian Federation at some point?
Andreas Seppi: At the moment, coaching is not my goal. When you coach, you're going to be again on the road for 30-40 weeks on tour. You are going to spend a lot of weeks away from your family and at the moment, I don't want to do that. If there is an option, maybe 10 weeks a year, I maybe open to that.
With the Italian Federation, I think as long as the current people are in the Federation, the President and a lot of other officials, I'm for sure not going to do something with them because I'm not in a good relationship with them. They treated me very badly, especially at the end of my career. I asked them many times for some help, especially at the end for a wildcard, to finish my career in a tournament in Italy and they didn't gave it to me. Maybe if the leadership changes then you never know.
This is very unfortunate. Seppi is a former world No.18, three time ATP champion and played in 66 consecutive Grand Slams. https://t.co/jYnE8CyfRT
Sportskeeda: Looking back at your career, what are the achievements that really stand out to you or you are most proud about?
Andreas Seppi: I think for sure the longevity of my career. If someone would have told me that you're going to still be playing at the age of 38, I would have never believed that. So I think all those years being among the top players in the game makes me for sure very proud. I think I could have maybe won a few more titles or had a few better results but playing on tour without any major injury for so many years and especially the 15-plus years of not missing a Grand Slam main draw.. that's the part I'm most proud of.
There’s also the titles I won on three different surfaces or wins over Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, they are very special as well.
Sportskeeda: You mentioned about your win against Federer at the Australian Open which was your biggest win at the Grand Slam stage. What memories do you have about that day when you look back on it today?
Andreas Seppi: For sure. It was one of my best matches, if not my best match on the tour. It was one of the few matches where I always was like really calm throughout the whole match and it just felt like everything was working. It’s a great feeling and it doesn't happen that often where you feel that everything is working well and you can just maintain a certain focus during the whole match and it was a pretty special day for me.
Sportskeeda: You played the Big 3 – Federer, Nadal and Novak Djokovic multiple times. Whom did you find the toughest to play against, or was it another player who gave you more problems?
Andreas Seppi: It's difficult to say but I really never liked playing against left-handers, who serve big and come to the net. I always hated it. But at the same time, I also had decent results against them. Somehow during these matches, I could figure out how to handle it. But yes, I think it's always not very easy playing a leftie in general because they have different speeds and their serve is not easy to return I didn't really have a player where I could say okay against this player, I find it very tough. Of course, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic which were almost impossible to beat especially in the in the big tournaments, but other than that I had decent results against other players.
Sportskeeda: Where do you stand on the whole G.O.A.T. debate?
Andreas Seppi: If you really go by the numbers, then you have to say Djokovic. He has the most Grand Slams, he won all the Masters 1000 events, he has the most weeks at No. 1.. So, it's difficult not to say from the numbers that Djokovic is the best.
However, as an athlete, as a person, and in general, how he involves people in tennis, I would go for Roger Federer due to his style and technique, everybody loved it. I would say he was the most elegant and the most loved player on tour. And, of course, Nadal, with his fighting spirit and the matches he turned around was unbelievable, and people loved it. But as I said, from numbers, you have to pick Djokovic.
Sportskeeda: Do you still watch a lot of tennis now once you're away from the game?
Andreas Seppi: Yes, I still enjoy watching especially all these big tournaments and seeing some matches. If I don't have to take care of the kids, then I watch some tennis. I still play during the summers a little bit of club matches in Germany and in Austria.
Sportskeeda: If you could, is there anything you would like to change looking back in your career?
Andreas Seppi: I never had too many injuries or I was never away for a long time in general but I would probably still take more care of my body like having a private physio traveling with me all around. I never had that in during my career but I would probably invest in having a physio all the time with me. Also, I can't say that I didn't give my 100% every time I stepped on court, so from that aspect, I think I can be pretty happy. I think maybe I could have changed my physical preparation a little bit earlier, because I did it like in 2011. That’s when I really started having good results I felt before that I was working a lot, but not in the right way. So, yes, I would probably change that but in general, I'm pretty satisfied with what I have achieved here.
Sportskeeda: If you could change maybe one or two rules in the sport, what would that be?
Andreas Seppi: That's a good question. I guess I wouldn't change anything from the game. One year, they had tried round robin tournaments, where if you lose your first match, you're not out of the tournament, you can still play another two matches. Maybe that could be something good for the sport, so if a player comes to the tournament, you see three matches of this player. So that could be an option.
Also, now, I how tennis is marketing much better than before, and is focussed on a lot more players. Before they focussed on just the big players, now, they talk a little bit more about every player. I think that’s a good thing. And for players, with a lower ranking, they should have more opportunity. And should be able to make a living out of tennis.
Tennis is one of the biggest sports and in the end but if you're not top 100, or 200 in the world, you cannot even make a living, I think that's the most the biggest part tennis officials should be aware. They're doing it better now. I think they still can do better, especially at the at the ATP Challenger level, maybe to focus on that to put a little bit more money in there and the earlier rounds for tournaments, so that it's going to be maybe easier for everybody to somehow continue to play.
Sportskeeda: In recent weeks, there's been a lot of talk recently about the tennis tours working with Saudi Arabia and getting some funding from them. As a player who has just retired, what are your thoughts on this subject?
Andreas Seppi: I think why not. In the end, they have the money they want to invest in, in the sport and they have never had big or a lot tournaments in Saudi Arabia. So why not try something different and give them the opportunity to to show what, what they can do. I will not say that it's not good. So, maybe we'll see how this one will develop in the in the future.
Sportskeeda: Final question, any thoughts about coming back? Maybe playing a tournament in singles or doubles. Do you ever feel the competitive urge to come back to the tour and play a few tournaments?
Andreas Seppi: No, not really. Next year, I'm turning 40. Being a professional tennis player was always my dream job. And I have achieved that. And now it's time for second chapter in my life.
I know that, especially on the woman's side, a lot of women come back. But for the men, I think in general, it is a little bit different. I'm now in Italy, and there is am ITF Futures in my home town actually. They asked me if I want to play the future just for fun, bu, I really can't do that. I'm glad with what I have done and so the competitive part of tennis is over as I said, I still love playing matches and that but no, no more ATP tournaments, for sure.