Andy Roddick: "Three years ago Jannik Sinner looked like a kid, now he's moving and acting like a grown-up"

Former singles World No. 1 Andy Roddick has praised Jannik Sinner for the maturity he has shown in his game recently.

Sinner has been in fine form since making a Round-of-16 exit at the US Open last year. He won titles in Beijing and Vienna and finished as the runner-up to Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals. Additionally, he helped Italy clinch its first Davis Cup title since 1976.

The 22-year-old has carried his form into 2024, winning his maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open last month. Most recently, he took part in the Rotterdam Open and won the title while dropping just one set (against Gael Monfils in the Round of 16) en route.

Former World No. 1 Andy Roddick has opined that Sinner looked very comfortable on the court and is enjoying his tennis without thinking about winning or losing.

"It’s gotten to a place where I don't even think he's thinking about winning or losing. Like, obviously that's why we go to tournaments, but it feels like he's comfortable just playing great points. Like, ‘I'm gonna play great points’ and that’s been shaking out pretty well after 90 minutes or two hours," he said on the latest episode of the Served with Andy Roddick podcast (05:30).

The American further stated that Sinner is now showing maturity that was missing a few years ago. He also praised the Italian's fitness levels.

"Fitness matters, right? When you can go into a tournament like Rotterdam, know your legs are. He's playing long rallies indoors, especially against [Alex] de Minaur, against Monfils, guys that make you play extended rallies," he said.

"When you are confident that your body which, you know, three years ago, he looked like a kid, he was a kid and now he's moving and acting like a grown-up on the court," he added.

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"This guy's kind of resetting a clock a little bit" - Andy Roddick on Rotterdam runner-up Alex de Minaur

Andy Roddick has praised 2024 Rotterdam Open runner-up Alex de Minaur.

In Rotterdam last year, Alex de Minaur, on his 24th birthday, dropped two match points before losing to Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals at the ATP 500 event.

Twelve months later, the Aussie got his revenge against the Bulgarian, winning their semifinal 6-4, 6-3 to reach the final — hitting 14 winners and registering just four unforced errors in the contest.

Though Jannik Sinner won the final 7-5, 6-4 and took home the title, Andy Roddick praised runner-up De Minaur, stating that he looked like a tough opponent on the court. He also stated that the 25-year-old displayed the old-school Australian grit and enthusiasm.

"Props to [Alex] de Minaur. I mean, this guy, he looks like work on the court and I say that in the most complimentary way possible. We've kind of gone from [Pat] Rafters back to [Rod] Lavers and the [Ken] Rosewalls and Aussies always played with a certain type of grit and kind of enthusiasm for the game," he said (07:20).

"And then we kind of went into the [Nick] Kyrgios and [Thanasi] Kokkinakis where we would pick highlights over results a little bit. And it wasn't really kind of that old-school Aussie culture. This guy's kind of resetting a clock a little bit isn’t he?" he added.