"Mirra Andreeva's composure is almost kind of Novak Djokovic in a weird way" - Andy Roddick

Andy Roddick recently drew parallels between Russian tennis prodigy Mirra Andreeva and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic's styles of play. Andreeva turned pro in the year 2022 and is already ranked 40th on the women's singles circuit.

Both Andreeva and Djokovic are currently in Rome gearing up for their first matches in their respective 2024 Italian Open draws.

Djokovic will kickstart his campaign on Friday, May 10, in the second round as he received a bye in the first round as the top seed. He will draw either Roman Safiullin or a qualifier in his opener.

Andreeva, on the other hand, is scheduled to start against Spain's Paula Badosa in the opening round on Tuesday, May 7, in Rome. It will be her first-ever meeting with Badosa, who is currently going through a rough patch due to recurring injuries.

She comes into the competition carrying boosted confidence from her run to the quarterfinals at the 2024 Madrid Open. Ahead of Andreeva's meeting with Badosa, Andy Roddick talked compared the Russian's strengths with the skillsets of Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, and Boris Becker when the trio were teens.

"Mirra Andreeva is a rockstar, just turned 17… Normally when someone is 16 or 17, you see… When Serena was, 17 it was like overwhelming power, it’s obvious what her superpower is. Rafa, when he was 17, it looked like he could bench-press dump trucks, Boris Becker, oh he has the biggest serve we’ve ever seen," Roddick said in a recent episode of the Served with Andy Roddick podcast.

He then claimed that Andreeva's gameplay resembles Novak Djokovic's.

"So at 17, it’s like they learn nuance but they open with their massive skillset, Andreeva kind of plays a nuanced game at 17. Her comp [composure] is almost kind of Novak in a weird way," he added.

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"The way that Mirra Andreeva wins her points is in a similar fashion to Novak Djokovic" - Andy Roddick

Mirra Andreeva

Further, in the same episode of the Served with Andy Roddick podcast, Andy Roddick opined that Mirra Andreeva converts rallies in a similar way to Novak Djokovic.

"I’m not saying she’s Novak, I’m saying the way that she wins her points is in a similar fashion to Novak," the American said (at 9:42).

Roddick then praised the Russian's ability to unsettle her opponents by effectively changing rally's direction, saying:

"She’s a magician at switching directions. She doesn’t let someone get set to hit the same ball twice."

Andreeva currently holds a 12-6 win/loss ratio for the 2024 season.