Dagsavisen har hver dag et intervju med faste spørsmål på baksiden av avisen. En aktuell person blir bedt om å svare på hva som er vedkommendes dårlige miljøsamvittighet, hva han er mest stolt over å ha fått til og så videre. Det siste spørsmålet er «Hvem ville du helst stått fast i heisen med?». Jeg har for lengst tenkt ut svaret, og et ferskt intervju i insidetennis.com viser at jeg hadde fått et givende opphold i heisen.
Hvem snakker jeg om? Andy Roddick. Amerikaneren er smart, veltalende, åpen, morsom og ujålete. Dessuten har han vært i tennistoppen i åtte år, og kan mye om tennis. Intervjuet i Inside Tennis er todelt, og det gjør ingenting. Her er det så mye bra stoff å fordøye. Roddick har selv twitret en lenke til intervjuet. Det betyr vel at han er godt fornøyd med det.
Noen høydepunkter:
Tourens beste forehand:
AR: Roger has the best forehand.
IT: It’s the most punishing?
AR: His ball is in the middle of the court. Being able to go the other way, with pace, without pace, inside-out angles, he controls most matches with his forehand from the middle of the court.
Tourens beste backhand:
Rafa’s got a great backhand. And no one talks about it because everyone one likes talking about the pretty one-handers. The shot that looks great is a shotmaking shot because you see it on a highlight reel and it looks great. Rafa’s is solid. Every single one is heavy. His ability to mix up the height on it, the way he passes off of it. He has a great backhand.
Spiller som imponerer Roddick:
You know who I’m a huge fan of David Ferrer. I just love how he’s maxed his game as much as anybody. You look at him you don’t say, “That shot was God-given.” You don’t look at him and say, “He does this amazing.” The guy competes his ass off every single time and doesn’t give an inch. And he’s made himself into a hell of a tennis player.
Om Austin, hvor han bor:
They’re very interested in UT [University of Texas] football. They’re very interested in Lance Armstrong, and that’s pretty much where it ends, and that’s probably one of my favorite things about Austin. I don’t want to be in a place where I’m getting asked about tennis when I’m going for coffee. I love Austin because it’s an extremely unaffected place. There are a lot of well-known people who live here who can go about their day-to-day business.
Om fjorårets klassiske Wimbledon-finale, og perspektiver på livet:
IT: You’ve said your worst day is better than a lot of other people’s best…
AR: Yes. I got a lot of kind of condolences after Wimbledon with people asking, “Are you okay?” and I said, “I’m disappointed. Obviously, it was a little heart-breaking. But let’s put this is perspective. I got to play in one of the best Wimbledon finals ever. I got cheered and I’ll have those memories forever.” I look back and have a lot more great memories than bad ones. At times like that, you have to have a little respect. I was never going to feel sorry for myself.