Since becoming a tennis broadcaster who provides expert opinions, Andy Roddick has copped much criticism from Novak Djokovic fans. The ‘Nolefam’ has not spared the 2003 US Open champion for his critical comments on the Serb. With that in mind, Roddick has sounded very cautious in his recent analysis on him.
Novak Djokovic has been posting pictures and videos of himself, especially of his injury and the extent of his recovery, on social media for quite some time now. Roddick mistook such posts as Djokovic drawing attention to himself ahead of Wimbledon. He thought Djokovic was just trying to garner support from his fans and the media.
The reason he thought so is, Andy Roddick was certain that Novak Djokovic would not recover in time for Wimbledon. Therefore, with apparently no chance of playing in the Grand Slam, Roddick assumed that Djokovic was being unrealistic and should have been honest in his communication. But now that there is a realistic chance of him making it, Roddick accepted that he is wrong n his assessnment.
On Tennis Channel, Andy Roddick was recently involved in another pundits’ segment and when asked about Novak Djokovic, he called himself a ‘dummy’ while trying to sound more funny than confrontational. He was quoted as saying –
“I think him drawing attention to the injuries, posting videos of him, doing his rehab, is a positive sign for him.”
“All of this is great news. I though the timeline was too short, I wm a big dummy. Obviously, I don’t operate at the same level as Novak. This is encouraging, this is exciting for tennis. You want your GOATs in the tournament and looks like Novak is gonna give it a run.”
Andy Roddick being careful on what he says about Novak Djokovic on today’s episode of TC Live following twitter exchange with @pavyg earlier today pic.twitter.com/bgCOA7f7JT
— asud (@asud659478) June 23, 2024
While this may reduce the abuses the NoleFam throws at Andy Roddick, the former World No.1 has previously been on the receiving end of anger from them. Roddick has been overtly critical of Djokovic at times, or at least that’s what his fans feel. So many of them even called him a ‘man of the establishment’ who purposefully maligns Djoker at every opportunity he gets.
And yet, when it comes to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick is more than happy to support them even if the legends could be wrong in a controversy. More than anybody, it is Djokovic superfan Pavvy G who has had the most beef with Roddick, especially in the last few days.
But Novak Djokovic’s fans have not let bygones be bygones since Andy Roddick had once insulted the 7-time Wimbledon champion publicly, during their playing days.
Andy Roddick’s Issues With Novak Djokovic Began 15 Years Ago
Although today, Andy Roddick sounds much more mellow about Novak Djokovic even when not favoring them, that wasn’t the case at the US Open 2008 and the Australian Open 2009.
At both the hard court Grand Slams, the duo took each other on in the quarterfinals. Another similarity in those matches is that Djokovic sought the assistance of his trainer and complained about either injuries or health issues.
After losing the 2008 match, Roddick accused Djokovic of interrupting their match as many as ’16 times’. He alluded to the fact that Djokovic might have been faking it and that it was a strategic plan to disrupt the flow of the game, and therefore, the focus of Roddick.
Whether the allegation was true or not, it worked. Djokovic beat Roddick 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5) and advanced to the semifinals. Whereas, in the 2009 clash, Andy Roddick got his revenge by knocking out the then defending champion, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, 2-1 (retired).
Novak Djokovic had to retire hurt after complaining of breathlessness. However, Andy Roddick was in no mood of sympathy and took that opportunity to mock him. It was an explosive press conference which apparently later turned into a small brawl of sorts in the locker room between the two players.
Ironically enough, Andy Roddick presented Novak Djokovic with the 2023 US Open trophy. The duo seems to have patched up as now, Roddick claims that Djokovic is truly the greatest tennis player of all-time and that he has spoken a lot of positive things about him.
However, fans could continue having a field day on social media and might look for another opportunity to strike at Andy Roddick. It would be interesting to see what Roddick says when a Djokovic loss, problem or controversy comes up.
