"They had a face like they ate a bad piece of food" - When Andy Roddick spoke about the 'awkward' nature of matches between Venus and Serena Williams
Andy Roddick said that the matches between Venus Williams and Serena Williams were "awkward" and like a game of chess as they knew each other very well.
The Williams sisters had a fierce rivalry, with Serena leading 19-12 from their 31 encounters, which included nine Grand Slam finals. The peak of their rivalry was during the early 2000s. By 2003, the two locked horns on 12 occasions, with Serena leading 7-5 in the head-to-head.
Roddick, while speaking on The GOAT: Serena podcast hosted by Zina Garrison and Chanda Rubin last year, stated that the early matches between the two sisters always felt awkward because of how they were played and also how there was not much of a celebration in the end.
"Those matches were kind of awkward for a long time. You felt like all of a sudden, there was a set and 3-3 and all of a sudden, they play well at the same time for three or four games. As far as quality, and maybe it's because they knew each other's weaknesses so they can attack them a little bit more, and I'm sure there's some sort of chess match explanation for it, but the matches always kind of felt awkward," Andy Roddick said.
"Even at the end, there was no celebration. It was like they were happy for half a second and then, they had a face like they ate a bad piece of food or something. It was like, 'I'm happy but I'm sad at the same time.' So, for me, I'm like better talking about their feats," the 2003 US Open champion added.
"She's a bad lady when she's on the court" - Andy Roddick on Serena Williams
Andy Roddick said a few months back that Serena Williams was a "bad lady" when she was on the court due to her competitiveness.
“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."