The American tennis player entered the main draw with a wild card, and he made his debut on the ATP Tour in Miami, when he lost to Tomas Mahač at the start.
Ahead of the match at Caja Mahic Center, Roddick told Blanco to keep in mind that Nadal is not in perfect condition.
“If I were Coach Blanco, I would tell him, listen, it’s okay to show him all the respect you can. You can give him credit, but also keep in mind that he is not currently the tenth player in the world. He is someone who is ranked 800. I would feed Blanco that narrative even if I didn’t believe in myself against Rafa” says Roddick, who is exaggerating a bit, because Nadal arrived in Madrid as the 512th.
The Spanish tennis player recently lost in two sets to Alex de Minor in Monte Carlo and Roddick followed closely.
“If you have a good start, it will be compromised. It doesn’t serve quite well yet. I would say all these things to give the player confidence. Of course, you have to respect him, have a game plan, all that has to be done. However, I would try to find ways to boost his optimismRoddick added.
He is convinced that Blank will one day have good results.
“The guy is left-handed, about 193, looks like a mini Ben Shelton. He has a strong serve, he played in Miami. His movement is not quite there yet, because he is still in the growth phase. Obviously, he is not like Rafa at 17, who seemed so strong. He might consider himself lucky to be playing with Rafa, who has three or four tournaments left to play. He won’t have many opportunities to say “I played with Rafa”. I hope he enjoys itRoddick concluded.
