"People don't give Lindsay Davenport credit": Roger Federer's agent and Andy Roddick spotlight American great's hidden genius that goes ignored

Roger Federer's long-time agent Tony Godsick spoke brightly about Lindsay Davenport in a conversation with Andy Roddick this week. He believes that the former World No. 1 was so adept at managing her schedule that it deserved huge plaudits.

Davenport was one of the most renowned players on the WTA Tour a couple of decades ago. Having turned pro in 1993, the American won three Major titles (1998 US Open, 1999 Wimbledon, 2000 Australian Open) while reaching at least the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament a whopping 31 times between 1994 and 2006. She spent an overall 98 weeks as the World No. 1, enjoying eight stints at the top of the singles rankings—second only to Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert's nine.

While Lindsay Davenport initially retired from tennis in 2007 after her first child Jagger's birth, she would eventually make her comeback before being done for good in 2011 following her third pregnancy with husband Jon Leach. Roger Federer's agent and TEAM8 CEO Tony Godsick recently gave an ode to her longevity while making an appearance on Andy Roddick's podcast.

According to Godsick, the steady pace of the former World No. 1's career and how she sustained prolonged success was the stuff of "genius".

"I don't think people give Lindsay Davenport the credit for being... besides being amazing and winning three Majors and all that stuff, she was genius. How she managed her career, how she managed her schedule," Tony Godsick said on the latest episode of Served With Andy Roddick podcast.

Roddick, who is close to Davenport, couldn't disagree before interjecting with a joke about the American legend's appearance on his podcast last year.

"Preach to the choir. I'm a big Lindsay fan, even though on this podcast she told me, what'd she say, I was a d**k? Not wrong, again, not wrong," the 2003 US Open champion said.

Nowadays, the 49-year-old has taken on the duties of coaching the USA's Billie Jean King Cup team. World No. 6 Jessica Pegula, who led the Americans at this year's BJK Cup, had nothing but praise for her captain last month.

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"I like playing for Lindsay Davenport... so funny and matter-of-fact" - Jessica Pegula

Lindsay Davenport gives coaching to Emma Navarro during BJK Cup | Image Source: Getty

Ahead of USA's 2025 BJK Cup final clash against Italy, Jessica Pegula dissected what made Lindsay Davenport the perfect captain. For the World No. 6, it was the latter's straightforward nature that shone through even when she was being critical.

"I like playing for Lindsay Davenportebecause she is so funny but so direct. It’s so funny because she will just be very straightforward, and you just start laughing," Jessica Pegula said. "Even yesterday, she was just very matter-of-fact. 'You are not doing this, you need to change this.' It’s so funny and so matter-of-fact."

Unfortunately, while Davenport did guide the Americans to their first BJK Cup title match since 2018, Pegula and her teammate Emma Navarro couldn't bring the trophy home as they both lost their singles fixtures to Jasmine Paolini and Elisabetta Cocciaretto, respectively.