‘Don’t Think I Was Over the Line’ – When Andy Roddick Justified His Mockery of Novak Djokovic’s Flurry of Injuries

Novak Djokovic is an icon in the world of tennis today. The Serb is among the top three all-time greats and recently claimed his 21st Grand Slam title after defeating Nick Kyrgios in the final of the Wimbledon Championships 2022.

The Serb is known for his fun-loving and cool nature off the court. However, in the 2008 US Open, he lost his cool after winning the semifinal against American tennis star Andy Roddick. Here’s what happened.

Roddick’s joke offended Novak Djokovic

Before the match, Roddick joked about Djokovic’s injury. Notably, the 35-year-old had earlier complained about stomach, hip, ankle, and breathing problems during his five-set win against Spain’s Tommy Robredo. Reacting to the issue, Roddick jokingly said to the reporters that anthrax, bird flu, and SARS could be future complaints from the Serb.

This did not go well with Djokovic, who lashed out at the American after defeating him in the quarterfinal. Later the Serb apologized for overreacting.

“Maybe I exaggerated and reacted bad in that moment. I apologize if I reacted like that. This was just impulsive,” he said.

Further, he explained the reason he was angry with Roddick.

“That’s not nice anyhow to say in front of this crowd that I have 16 injuries and I am faking it,” he added.

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Later, Roddick also reacted to the incident.

“I’m sorry he took it that way. There’s nothing else to say. I don’t think I was over the line. It wasn’t my intention and I’m sorry he felt that way,” he said.

The rivalry between Djokovic and Roddick

With the kind of player Djokovic is, it is hard to find opponents who have dominated him on the court. However, the American has a slightly better record than the modern-day great.

If we look at their head-to-head record, the American leads 5-4 against Djokovic. While all five of them came on the hard court for Roddick, Djokovic won three matches on hard courts and one on grass.

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If we look at Grand Slam achievements, Djokovic is still active and recently won his 21st Major title. However, the only major for Roddick came during the 2003 US Open and he still remains the only American player in the men’s circuit to win a Grand Slam title in the past two decades.