Andy Roddick has once again embroiled himself in a controversy regarding Novak Djokovic’s recent injury. The Serbian tennis pro has recently withdrawn from the French Open owing to a knee injury before the quarterfinal match against Casper Ruud. Naturally, this made the tennis fans dejected, as they were finally watching Djokovic find his form in the tournament. But when the American former tennis pro, Andy Roddick, commented on how Djokovic should take a bit of a rest for this season, it didn’t sit well with the sport enthusiasts.

Andy Roddick, known for his bold statements about various tennis players, has once again stirred up a new debate online after his “Served with Andy Roddick” podcast on June 6. This time, the topic was Novak Djokovic’s current form on the court. During the episode named, “Roddick Previews Roland Garros Semi-Finalists and Djokovic Knee Injury,” Andy said, “I’d say grass is his best surface right now and the worst surface for the guys he’s going against. If he pulls out in two weeks, that’s bad. Further adding to it, the 41-year-old former player said, “That also puts the US Open in jeopardy and he could just put a wrap on this season and have one final push next year. Let’s get healthy for next year.”

The tennis world has already witnessed the 37-year-old’s weak form on-court this year. Although the 24 Grand Slam Champion has chosen his tournaments very selectively this year (6 tournaments), Djokovic still remains title less so far. Not only that, due to his withdrawal from the French Open, a place where he has previously won three times, he is also losing his top spot in tennis after embracing it for 428 weeks.  

However, Djokovic, who previously stated that his dream would be getting a gold medal at the Olympics, now finds himself at a crossroads about his upcoming matches. But, not to worry, as his fandom is by his side. When Andy Roddick’s comment on Djokovic taking the rest of the season off surfaced online, it received heavy backlash from the fans.

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Andy Roddick’s turbulent history with Novak Djokovic is not new to the tennis world. Although right now there does not exist any hostility between the duo, this was not the case back in 2008, when Roddick accused Djokovic of faking his injuries. However, while, according to one fan on X, Roddick’s intention was not bad: “It is strange. Maybe he doesn’t want him to come back too fast and fail,” the fan wrote, the other says how annoying is Andy getting these days, “Roddick is getting very annoying. Telling players what to do, it’s not his place. He thinks he’s always right, well he’s not. He’s a Trump hater, totally woke 🤮🤮🤮🤮.”

This is not the first time that Roddick has garnered attention due to his comments on Djokovic. And Roddick himself aware of the criticism that he receives frequently because of his comments on Djokovic. He once said, “I know anytime I say anything nice or bad about Novak, I’m gonna get slaughtered. One way or the other, that’s a given.”

Another fan pointed out, “Lol. Andy can say whatever he likes. Novak will do whatever he wants. You might want to consider chilling a bit.” A similar scenario unfolded when the 2003 US Open champion’s comments about Djokovic’s fitness during the Monte-Carlo Masters semifinals stirred up another controversy. “I’m having a hard time getting a read on the Novak we say in Monte-Carlo and the reasonings for it,” he said earlier this year, which also received a lot of backlash from fans.

Another fan wrote, “Are we back to “he should withdraw”? 🙄🙄🙄 They truly can’t wait, can they? The Wimbledon draw is in three weeks. Surely they can wait THAT long. 🙄🙄.” However, according to Andy Roddick, Djokovic needs a lot of work to be done in order to be back on-court. “Novak needs his wheels. He needs his defensive skills. He is probably the best defensive player in the history of tennis, and with defense, you rely on your legs,” he further said in the recent podcast.

One fan simply questioned, “Who is asking him for his opinion tho.” Regarding facing criticism from Djokovic fans, Roddick, who played 9 matches (won 5 of them) against him, said, “I’m so scared of Nole’s [Djokovic’s] Twitter people. I say something like he was breathing heavily and even though he was breathing heavily, they are like f*** you! I just eat s*** from them all the time.”

Andy Roddick has frequently stated his admiration for Novak Djokovic. However, when it comes to criticizing him, his comments have seldom made fans unhappy.