"Rafael Nadal is the master of underpromising and overdelivering" - Andy Roddick skeptical of Spaniard's doubts about French Open 2024 participation

Andy Roddick has openly questioned Rafael Nadal's doubts about his participation in the 2024 French Open.

With this year's French Open likely marking Nadal's final appearance at the claycourt Major, fans have been eagerly awaiting confirmation of the Spaniard's participation. His recent dream run to the fourth round of the Madrid Open ignited hopes of seeing him grace the claycourt Major once again.

However, the 14-time Roland Garros champion has remained noncommittal about whether he will take part, even stating that the "world does not end with Roland Garros."

Andy Roddick recently shared his perspective on Rafael Nadal's uncertainty, expressing skepticism about the possibility of the Spaniard skipping the French Open and highlighting his tendency to "underpromise and overdeliver."

"At the beginning of the tournament he said, ‘if I feel the way that I feel physically right now with confidence, not knowing what I have, I don’t know if I’ll play Roland Garros.’ I tend to not believe that. I think he’s the master of under promising and over delivering," he said on the 'Served with Andy Roddick' podcast (at 32:30).

Roddick also recalled the 37-year-old's habit of expressing uncertainty about his ability to beat low-ranked opponents in the first round of the French Open, revealing that such statements would elicit a Lindsay Davenport-esque eye roll from him.

However, Roddick shared that he has come to understand that this mindset has helped the former World No. 1 deliver his best.

"During his prime, he’d be going into like the first round of Roland Garros against someone ranked like 70 in the world and be like, 'I don’t know it could go either way,'" he said.

"I used to not really believe that, I’d go like full Davenport violent eye roll when he would say it but then I honestly think he just works from a place of this could go wrong, I’m going to hustle my way to make it not so and give my best effort," he added.

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"If Rafael Nadal is healthy and can sneak two tournaments in, he’s got to be in the top five favorites at Roland Garros" - Andy Roddick

Rafael Nadal won the 2022 French Open

Andy Roddick recently expressed his belief that if Rafael Nadal remains healthy and takes part in two tournaments in the lead-up to the 2024 French Open, he would secure his spot among the top five favorites for the title.

"Yeah, I think we’re talking about health, right? If Rafa is healthy and can sneak two tournaments in, he’s got to be in the top five favorites at Roland Garros still," he said on the Tennis Channel.

Roddick's prediction proved accurate, as bookmakers ranked the Spaniard as the fourth favorite to triumph at Roland Garros, following his Barcelona Open and Madrid Open campaigns.

Nadal will continue his preparations for the claycourt Major at the Italian Open. The Spaniard has begun gearing up for the Masters 1000 event in Rome, where he boasts an impressive 10 titles.