"She’s a bad lady when she’s on the court, you don’t want to mess with her"- Andy Roddick on Serena Williams
Andy Roddick spoke about Serena Williams and said that she is a "bad lady" on the court, referring to her competitiveness.
The 2003 US Open champion spoke to Fansided about the 40-year-old, who is in the final hours of her tennis career. Roddick was asked about the brighter side of Williams and he responded by saying it's funny to think about that given how competitive she is on the court.
“Well it’s funny, because she’s so competitive, right? And so the majority of time when people see her, she’s either on the court — she’s a bad lady when she’s on the court; you don’t want to mess with her — or in press right afterwards, of which I think she’s probably been guilty of going to the press room too quickly after losses sometimes," Roddick said.
The former US Open champion also said that people do not see enough of the lighter side of both Venus and Serena Williams and claimed that both are a joy to be around when they are not competing.
"But I don’t think people see enough of the lighter side of Venus and Serena," Roddick added. "They’re such a joy to be around when they’re not in ‘go mode.’ We’ve celebrated people’s competitiveness over the years with the greats of all time. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ve given them the benefit of the doubt to have those kinds of same competitive moments."
Serena Williams will face Anett Kontaveit in 2022 US Open 2R
Serena Williams booked her place in the second round of the US Open, where she will be up against World No. 2 Anett Kontaveit. The American beat Danka Kovinic 6-3, 6-3 while the Estonian thrashed Jaqueline Cristan 6-3, 6-0 in their respective opening-round clashes.
It will be the first meeting between the two players and while Kontaveit has not been in the best of form lately, beating her will be a daunting task for Serena, given her recent performances.
However, considering the former World No. 1's experience, mentality and the fact that she will have the crowd on her side, she has a chance of winning. The winner of the match will face either Evgeniya Rodina or Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the US Open.