RAZOR-SHARP RODDICK IS A HUGE BBC HIT

A RAIN delay at Wimbledon used to mean an impromptu performance from Sir Cliff Richard that had you desperately wishing for the wet weather to pass so that the tennis could resume. Not so yesterday when new BBC television pundit Andy Roddick stole the show in a gripping 15-minute discussion with Sue Barker during a rain delay in Andy Murray’s quarter-final against Vasek Pospisil. When the players returned, you could not help but wish for another shower to pass over SW19 so the former world No 1 could continue. Roddick was always known for his quick-fire humour, razor-sharp wit and general mischief during his playing days. A search for ‘Andy Roddick’ in YouTube will bring up a whole host of press conference classics. After retiring three years ago, Roddick worked as an analyst on the nightly Fox

Sports Live programme on American television. But signing for the BBC this summer marked his return to tennis. He did not join until yesterday because he did not want to spend the full fortnight away from his wife Brooklyn Decker, who is expecting their first child. It was worth the wait. Roddick’s wit and self-deprecation was obvious from the outset when discussing the gluten- free diets of today’s players. ‘I didn’t even know what the word gluten meant when I was playing. Maybe I should have,’ he said. In a recent interview with the New York Times, Roddick (left) revealed one of the rules he imposes on himself when broadcasting: ‘I’m happy to say something, even if it’s negative, as long as I would say it to the person sitting across from me if they were looking me in the eye.’ It will be fascinating then if he ever comes face to face with Nick Kyrgios. Roddick was initially positive about on the Aussie bad boy but made clear his disapproval of his lack of effort against Richard Gasquet in the last 16. He said: ‘You see the kids at Kyrgios’ matches and the younger kids flock to him. Where I draw the line is the tanking part. So long as the personality comes from a place of passion, I’m all for it. The not trying thing? I can’t get with that at all.’ Roddick’s opinion was not just limited to tennis. When David Beckham was shown on camera, he said: ‘I think he makes a splash anywhere he goes. Just look at that bone structure. I haven’t (met him) yet but I have long been an admirer of his hair. Great hair.’ Pospisil’s notebook also received the Roddick treatment: ‘Is it stuff about the match? A list of girls’ numbers?’ He never won Wimbledon as a player, but he won it as a pundit yesterday.