War & Peace Quote by Andy Roddick

Roddick is describing aggression not as brute force, but as messaging. “My weapon” isn’t just a bigger serve or a harder forehand; it’s a posture that turns every point into a negotiation where he sets the terms. The line “letting them know” gives away the real target: the opponent’s comfort. He’s talking about disrupting rhythm, shrinking the court psychologically, and refusing to let a match settle into the safe, polite pattern of endless rallies where both players simply exchange competence.

The phrasing is revealingly conversational, almost defensive, as if he’s clarifying that aggression isn’t recklessness. He draws a boundary between being assertive and being merely reactive: “not just going to kind of poke it back.” That verb choice is contemptuous. “Poke” suggests a player who survives rather than threatens, who returns the ball to keep the point alive but doesn’t demand a decision. Roddick frames that style as a form of surrender: “be content to stay in rallies,” contentment as complacency.

The context is early-2000s men’s tennis, when baseline endurance and metronomic consistency were increasingly rewarded. Roddick, with a game built around pace and a violent first strike, had to justify his identity in an era that often celebrated patience as maturity. His subtext is competitive self-definition: aggression as discipline, not ego. It’s also a warning: if you try to “get away with something” - take time, find a pattern, settle in - he’ll make the match uncomfortable fast.