Andy Roddick praises Roger Federer for the ‘classy’ move he’s made since retiring from tennis

Roger Federer's Laver Cup has become a mainstay in the tennis calendar since its inception nine years ago, and for many of the top players, it represents a unique and refreshing break from the usual stresses of the ATP Tour.

Instead of having to compete against the world's best day after day, they are instead thrown into an unfamiliar team format and asked to compete for the pride of their respective teams: Europe vs the Rest of the World.

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Carlos Alcaraz is one of the biggest advocates for this event, having featured in it for three straight years now.

Andy Roddick, discussing the Spaniard, has spoken about how his career compares to the likes of Rod Laver, while also heralding Roger Federer for honouring such an underrated legend.

Andy Roddick praises Roger Federer's legacy at the Laver Cup

Speaking in front of a live audience earlier today in the Laver Cup fan zone, just outside of the famous O2 that will host this weekend's tennis, Roddick was effusive in his praise for Federer and the event he created in 2017.

And, after chatting with the Team Rest of the World captain Andre Agassi, the host of the Served podcast discussed his legendary compatriot in relation to Alcaraz and Rod Laver, who were pictured chatting on court recently.

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Delving into the respective legacies these two will leave long after they're gone, and how the Laver Cup honours what came before, Roddick noted: "Let's talk about history for a second, right? So, let's get a little nerdy.

"So, Carlos, we're looking at seven Slams, the youngest to ever complete the Career Slam, right? So, already seven slams. So he's won more slams to this point in his career than icons like Edberg, Becker, he's tied with McEnroe.

"He's one shy of the man who is just on our stage [Agassi] at eight, one shy of Lendl. Now, so that's a lot of slams.

"Rod Laver. He won more slams than Carlos has currently. If you just take his best two seasons ever.

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"So he won the full year Grand Slam in 1962, then went off and did military service, came back, and won the Grand Slam year to year, every slam in the same year, again, in 1969. Only player to have done that.

"So for Roger to kind of look and say, listen, what do I want to do? What is part of my legacy? Can we leave tennis with an event that celebrates not only our captains? Right? So bring in McEnroe and Borg, and we're gonna connect generations, and we're gonna kind of pass all that information down, but also honour one of the biggest icons in our sport with Mr Laver.

"I thought it was a really classy touch for Roger to do. And it's nice to see, you know, that this has travelled around to some of the best cities in the world, and is right back here in London."

Federer recently named the three players he's most excited to see at the Laver Cup this year, with the Swiss maestro set to be in attendance once again at his very own tournament.

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Carlos Alcaraz reveals recent conversation with Rod Laver

Elsewhere, whilst speaking at the Laver Cup's official announcement day alongside his fellow teammates and competitors, Alcaraz then got the chance to chat with the media about this exact legacy forged by Federer and Laver.

And, the Spaniard revealed that he even got the chance to chat with both, revealing his conversation with the legendary Australian star.

He claimed: "The truth is that they have been there generation after generation, Rod, and maybe then there has been a generation in between and then Federer, and for me, to be able to sit with them, being able to be chatting about even something one-on-one, for me it is a privilege.

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"For me, it's an honour. They are great tennis pioneers, starting with Rod. Then, Federer changed the way to play tennis. It has been a privilege. We have spoken, well, a little bit, especially with Rod, about what has changed in tennis from when he played to now, the speed of everything.

"The truth is that, as I said, it has been a privilege."

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