No one knows Novak Djokovic as well as his former colleague and rival Andy Roddick. Be it Djokovic’s excellent on-court performance or the Serb’s “friendly” gesture with colleagues, Roddick has never missed a chance to reflect on the world number one tennis star’s brilliance. Now that Djokovic is entering the Geneva Open before Paris, Roddick feels the 24-time Grand Slam winner  is “ trying to find something”

In his recent podcast Served with Andy Roddick, this former American ATP star took a sly dig at Novak Djokovic’s decision to play an ATP 250 event in Geneva before the second Grand Slam event of the year. The 36-year-old tennis veteran said it is unusual for a legend like Djokovic to play another tournament before the French Open. Hinting at the Serb’s hidden mission, Roddick thinks Djokovic’s Geneva Open attempt is a method to come back to his winning ways before another Grand Slam event. “Novak is next on the line, takes a, I have said this before, if you see a top player take a wild card entry into ATP 250 a week before the slam, they are trying to find something in no one’s certain terms. Novak takes a wild card into Geneva “ said Roddick in his podcast.

Fans can’t ignore Roddick’s statement as Djokovic has been attending only ATP Master 1000 events in recent times. It is not an usual affair for the Serb to participate in ATP 250 events before such a crucial championship like the Grand Slam. However, the world’s number-one might have another reason to play in Geneva. This season Djokovic had 12 wins with a disastrous defeat against Alejandro Tabilo in the Italian Open’s third round. His Geneva Open stint might be an attempt to boost his morale before Roland Garros. “This is Novak’s formulated mission by action that he is searching and he said that much after Rome and it’s like ‘I didn’t even feel like myself, “ said the American former tennis legend.

Despite providing his reasoning for Djokovic’s surprise entry into Geneva, Roddick said in an interview with the Tennis Channel- “I like the move and I’m also shocked by it. You know, it’s strange because he has been so confident just entering the biggest tournaments in the world without a lot of prep work, right? He’s made a habit of that and been successful at it over the last three or four years. So, it definitely proves the point that we’ve been beating home all week that if something is different, you need matches — even the best of all time.”

The 2003 US Open champion’s statement about Djokovic showcases how closely Roddick follows his former colleague’s schedules. Despite their rivalry, it shows Roddick’s admiration for the Serb. On the other hand, Djokovic, who is in the headlines for his shock Geneva Open entry, spoke about it in a press conference recently.

Novak Djokovic spills the beans about adding Geneva to his plans

While the tennis fraternity is excited to watch Djokovic in Geneva, the Serb finally broke his silence about his recent decision. “The reason why I chose to come and play is because I feel like at this moment, there is no better practice for me than match play, I feel like I need more matches, even if it’s one match, two matches, three, four hopefully. It’s good for me, because that’s the way for me to try to find that kind of form that I need for Roland Garros” he said in a press conference Tuesday.

“In terms of fitness, I’ve dedicated quite a bit of time with my new fitness coach to build the endurance, to build physical strength and capabilities that I need in order to play a best-of-five Grand Slam on the physically most demanding surface, which is clay, So hopefully I’m going to get more than one match here in Geneva, that’s the goal and then let’s see what happens in Paris,” Djokovic said.

Andy Roddick’s statement about Djokovic’s Geneva tour speaks about the Serb’s hard work and dedication to tennis. It also showcases Roddick’s admiration for the world’s number-one tennis star despite their on-court rivalry in the past.