Excerpt from Served with Andy Roddick Episode 8 – released on 3.19.24.
Andy and James discuss how much tennis has changed since they were on tour and how much the sport has improved.
Watch the full interview here: https://youtu.be/qlraaP0spsU
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43 Comments
Great comment about change in court speeds. I totally agree, and wish they would add some fast courts (or fast balls) to the tour. Everything plays like clay now….
“Where do you go w Medvedev?”
Cmon. Old Fed beat him twice easily. Med is a poor mover coming forward. Fed brought him in w short balls and beat him short ball points again and again.
You can’t have 38yo Fed beating everybody in NextGen and say the “athleticism” is getting better, just because the modern gear is better. Same w everyone modern atp moving to back fence on returns. They can’t handle the returns, and severs can’t move in fast enough to punish deep returns.
How can tennis and tennis players be better now when it’s abundantly clear that slowing-down court speeds totally levelled the playing field in terms of adaptability?
Any of today's big servers/movers vs Alcaraz on a 1995 Wimbledon would be a total blow-out…
Roddick from Wimbledon 04 would be a big ask for any of today's Top10 on a true grass court…
weaknesses are on mental side. this has not changed at all. maybe even dropped
Not enough players in this latest era have a decent volley. Most of them treat the net like it is the ledge at Niagara Falls. So yes, today's players are really good from the back of the court and athletic but most lack an all around game. Alcaraz is one of the few that can play well from the front and the back. Kyrgios is gifted from every part of the court. That's a guy that could have won 6-7 slams if really wanted it badly. Sinner is building a multi-faceted game as well. I have to disagree on Medvedev. He's incredible from the baseline but he didn't build his net capability enough which has held him back from winning more slams…I love watching him play nonetheless.
Tennis is becoming boring. Everyone plays the same.
We need fast courts
Best tennis podcast out there. Could someone show Andy how to turn off his incoming email chime though?😂
Things dont keep getting better and better…. look at the NBA for example 😂
Andy’s interviews would be better if he talked less.
I have been playing since 1982, I teach the sport, and love playing it. BUT, I can't watch modern tennis. Too boring and no variety. I used to liked seeing the different styles of play. French was slow (never watched), Wimbledon was fast (love the serve-and-volley), and the US Open was an inbetween. I understand some people want to see rallies, but they slowed the ball and courts down so much for those long rallies, that matches are taking 6 hours (2012 Aussie Open with Nadal and Novak. That's inhumane to a player. And, I don't have time to watch something that long.
It's a shame that the surfaces have changed so much. There should be more surfaces… that's something tennis could add to make each tournament unique but I get the feeling they want dominant players across all surfaces because it's easier to create a following of personality than it is of the sport as a whole.
With the earlier equipment they needed to be much cleaner ball strikers though.
That Friday Miami Open was a disaster for fans and players. I was there. Blake is tournament director, need some answers.
No Roddick and Blake no no no … players of today are not better. They are just being benefited from ultra modern raquets and strings that do it all for them. THEY ARE NOT BETTER. The ´all the same´ type of surfaces benefit them even more.
Put them on the ultra fast courts of the 80s and 90s, the ultra fast indoor carpet, grass and real hard courts of the US Open and Australian Open of the past, with past graphite or wood and they would look like fools playing men like Lendl, Becker, Laver, Pancho Gonzales, Borg, Sampras and Andy Roddick. Roddick was a beast (2002-2004) before they started changing the courts. He DESTROYED Rafael Nadal at the 2004 US Open. Look what happened playing Nadal at the same place 8 years after. The court was so slow it was embarrasing to see.
Also James Blake, he would have won a slam for sure playing in the 90s or if courts would have stayed the same.
Its no secret the orders of Nike to ATP to slower all courts. Nike has been the BIGGEST DESEASE SPORTS HAVE EVER WITNESSED, THEY HAVE BEEN THE CANCER.
Back to todays players; they are also not better mentally. They are pumping fists from the first point of the match looking everytime to their boxes, asking from crowd support, yelling like they have won 5 Wimbledons in row just because they broke serve at 3-3 in the first.
They are not more athletic; they are skinnier, all baby faced. Compare their bodys and legs to to the real men that played in the past.
These are clowns, social media, digitalized clowns, again, just benefited from ultra modern raquets and strings that do it all for them. Dont be fooled: THEY ARE NOT BETTER
It’s very real for these guys to admit tennis is improving
Started with tennis is getting better blah blah blah…. Ended with it was better then wasn’t it?
Provide water and towels James . Crappy tournament director .
The atp finals of 2023 had fast conditions we need more tournaments like that. The atp has become a snoozefest as theres no variety i’d rather watch the WTA.
old dogs saying their generation was harder are a joke
Love watching both these guys play. But the courts have gotten slower and we don’t get to see the different games. I want to see the courts go back to the fast courts. Bring back the old courts
I loved watching Blake. So cool! Roddick too!
great discussion; however I am concerned that players will get injured if the surfaces are too much different at different tournaments; it still is insane to me that a sport like tennis is played on hard courts; Laver was great because he basically played on grass and clay; never on cement
Two old timers keeping it real – love the honest, no-BS commentary about the state of today's game from two former top 10 player with no agenda. This is now my favorite tennis-related channel.
@ServedPodcast I remember James Blake doing his early commentary right when Justin Gimelstob was still on air. Gimelstob was too hyper. Blake was calm, yet, insightful, so I liked him from the start. There were others that I liked from way back when like Patrick McEnroe back in the 80s (he's less insightful these days, I feel) and one guy who did a fantastic job (along with James) was Jimmy Arias. I wish he did more commentary. And of course, Andy has shown fantastic insights as well. Just such a relaxed interview when James is being interviewed. So chill.
Y'all are both two of the sexiest guys ever on tour. Woof.
Also smart and funny
James is the organiser of the Miami tournament. Players are upset with the facilities, calling it a joke. Asphalt-like surfaces on the outside courts, a plastic chair for players, no towels, the list goes on. Why does James treat the players so badly? Such a tight arse way to run a tournament. It's a disgrace.
And that’s why Roger was soooo good
Tennis has improved much like film … It's a Marvel movie now – Formulaic and all about margins. As a spectator who lived through the 90s, I agree would be nice to show case some of the faster game styles again.. Bring back carpet courts, &/or slick indoors… if even for a few weeks of the year.
with today's athletic abilities. fast courts won't be like they used to be.
Its like what happened with basketball. It used to be funner because youd have players that specialize in certain areas, but now everyones pretty much the same. I still beleive that Sampras and Federer had more talent in volleying, flick and tricky shots than most anyone today, but they have less athleticism. Federer had such good form hed just take a few steps without as much s urrying or effort, but he couldnt beat Djokovics acrobatics, sliding defense, and couldnt close out games like when he was a robot from outer space in 2004-2008. The sport has turned more into a boxing match and game of endurance now, for better or worse,
I think it’s a waste of time to compare past and present players. I will say, however, that the court surfaces are way too slow and they’ve made the balls too heavy. I’d like to see players show off their lightning quick reaction times and be able to hit winners more freely. These matches with marathon length points have become somewhat of a bore for me.
Total bullshit, tennis these days is slower, less winners and way more boring. Other than a few players most of the top 50 look and play identical. Blake is pissed up…
The first change I want to see is – only one serve – then we will a truly all round game
tennis is boring to watch nowadays. Change the surfaces and maybe make pro players all play with gut strings. Maybe that'll help bring back variety and creativity. I'm watching 80s and 90s matches on youtube because it's more fun to watch because of the different styles back then.
Finally some actual real tennis knowledge being dropped. I thought I was the only one thinking all these things. It feels amazing knowing that I wasn't the only one. we really lack this stuff in the tennis world. 99% of people have no real clue of what they're talking about, and as an avid tennis player and fan you can tell. Even grand slam commentators have no real clue about Tennis and why Players play a certain way or go for a certain shot. Most of the time it's just the same typical commentators with the same kind of knowledge as the Netflix break point producers (ie. no real deep knowledge of the sport). Which is really sad.
"Advancement in technology" 😃 How about technique??
Tennis is one of the few sports that is greatly impacted by advances in equipment technology, specifically the racquet. The racquets allow for more powerful shots. Strings like Nadal uses can create insane spin. So because of this, the players have had to get faster and stronger off both sides. And as Blake stated, the game can be "manipulated" with changes in the surface. It's all very homogenous now which worked in the favor of certain players like Nadal and Novak. The superfast grass or concrete no longer exists. While it's made the game "better", its' actually made the game less interesting to me and less desirable to watch.I can't think of any other sport that can be "manipulated" the way tennis has been, and not necessarily for nefarious reasons.
They are slowing the courts because everyone hits harder. I played James Blakes brother Thomas in High School. That 120mph serve was super fun to try to return. At least I didn't get double bagel-ed.
sampras catching strays from his children 😂
and TV needs to show court level behind the player camera pov … the normal TV pov makes the game look pedestrian af.
you dont really see how fast and high the balls are bouncing. or how much court player is covering.
i get its harder on the eyes over a 3 hour match but show us more than one freakn camera angle during matches.
oooh james!! we love(d) you!!!
I like the baseball idea that they still use wood bats. it is better isn't it ? obviously can't go back to woodies, but controlling string technology including weave patterns could be done and maybe maybe cut the advantage top `10 guys have