Andy Roddick had a blunt message for Jelena Ostapenko following a stunning US Open scene, pretty much telling the Latvian that she is not the one to be lecturing anyone about the proper behavior.
Ostapenko, the 2017 US Open winner, was vivid after Taylor Townsend handed her a 7-5 6-1 defeat in the US Open second round as she approached the American with some strong words. Later, it was revealed that the former world No. 5 described her American rival as "uneducated" and "unclassy."
If you wonder what led to it, apparently, Ostapenko felt that Townsend disrespected her by instantly going to the net during their warmup. Also, the Latvian claimed that the home player didn't apologize to her after winning a point via a net cord.
Ostapenko faced some major criticism and backlash for her comments, with some even alleging that she was racist. While the 2017 French Open defended her position and remained adamant that Townsend was disrespecting her, she addressed the racist accusations by insisting that she would never do that.
Roddick has a blunt message for Ostapenko
On his podcast, Roddick acknowledged that he had his moments on a tennis court - so he is not the one to criticize someone about losing their cool. However, the 2003 US Open champion also brought up the Daniil Medvedev example and how the Russian does some stuff, but then openly admits that he is "imperfect."
Ostapenko lecturing someone about class on a tennis court is like me lecturing someone about trying everything they can to stop losing their hair! Its like the heights of hypocrisy and that bothers me. If you have that opinion that you want to lecture someone about sportsmanship, I have a suggestion, start looking people in the eye when you shake their hands. Lets start with that. And then about 15 steps later you can criticise someone for not saying sorry on a net cord," Roddick added.
It's not hard to guess what Roddick wanted to say with his comments - Ostapenko has a history, and if she wants to criticize someone, she should at least first admit that she tends to do similar things.
