"You're an idiot": the lesson from André Agassi that transformed Andy Roddick
Today an analyst and host of his famous podcast, Andy Roddick looked back on an episode that marked him until the end of his career.
Australia: suffocating heat
Roddick recalled a scene that occurred before an Australian Open, when Melbourne turned into a furnace.
"It was one of those days where, outside, it felt like a hairdryer. It was about 40 degrees, the wind was blowing... It was disgusting."
And in this unbearable heatwave, Roddick was hanging around in the training room, joking with everyone, complaining about the heat... But during this time, André Agassi, silent, was watching him.
The phrase he will never forget
Annoyed by his compatriot's complaints, Agassi finally intervened:
"Man, you're the third person you've talked to about the heat. You're an idiot."
Roddick, stunned, then asked him why?
"You're here complaining. But how many people in the world only need to be better than one person per workday?
You don't need to be perfect every day. But you have to be a little better than the guy across from you. Especially in the early rounds. And no matter the conditions, the weather, all that," explains Agassi.
These words struck Roddick, because his elder had just summarized, in one statement, what it means to be a champion: never offer excuses and waste energy on external factors.
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