"No other player would get criticism for that": Novak Djokovic's losses blown out of proportion believes Andy Roddick
ATP
Being the World No.1 and perceived as the greatest player of all time, Novak Djokovic is more open to criticism and scrutiny perhaps than others and Andy Roddick believes that too much is being looked into regarding his current form.
Aside from losing to Luca Nardi, Djokovic has only lost to top players on both surfaces in Casper Ruud, Jannik Sinner and Alex de Minaur latterly at the United Cup. Most have come in latter stages of tournaments too so aside from Nardi have not been freak upsets. Roddick said that while Djokovic needs more time on court, he had a good week in Monte-Carlo.
"It was a good week for Novak. He got his paces in. You know, you have to be a certain kind of player for people to criticize a semifinal showing in the first claycourt tournament of the year when you’ve only played two other events and you beat a Top 10 player [Alex de Minaur] along the way. No other player would get criticism for that," the American said in a recent episode of the Served with Andy Roddick podcast.
"He looked a little strange, he was like laboring, his breath looked like it was short, earlier, especially against de Minaur. It was interesting, you feel like, he’s still trying to find his match fitness."
"I think I was the first to say he's the greatest before it was generally accepted but you can't win them all. I thought it was a good week for him, uncharacteristic at the end but if you haven't played a lot of matches, it's ridiculous to think that you're going to play matches at the peak of your abilities."
Saying about him needing to play more, this was soon decided against as Djokovic withdrew from Madrid. "He needs to play more tennis going to Roland Garros. He knows better than anyone how to manage this part of the year. He’s kind of slowly ramped up the claycourt season to get to a Roland Garros title a couple of times, including last year," he continued.
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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