Andy Roddick, who will retire after the U.S. Open, says that he and one of his longtime rivals, Lleyton Hewitt have become friends. The two first faced off the 2001 U.S. Open in an incredibly heated quarterfinal that was eventually won by Hewitt, who went on to win the title. The two have a 7-7 career record against each other. The 31-year-old Hewitt has 4-2 record against the 30-year-old American at the majors, and won their last contest at the 2012 Australian Open when Roddick retired after the third set with an injury.
Oh, man, he's probably the best competitor I played against,” said Roddick after his second-round win over Bernard Tomic. “It's weird. This year we've probably become friends. At first we probably didn't like each other much, and then it came to the point where we respected each other. Then it was slowly like we kind of each give a little ground and say, How you doing? I'm good. How are you? Okay. Now we'll text each other back and forth after matches and stuff. It's funny, how that's come full circle. I come in today and he's in the throes of a battle. Our lockers are right next to each other. He came in and he was really pumped up. It would be hard for me to respect what he's done in this game more than I do."