Often snubbed in sportsmanship stakes, Andy Roddick believes Novak Djokovic doesn't get enough credit for off-court persona
ATP
Often a topic of conjecture is Novak Djokovic not being nominated for ATP Sportsmanship Awards and Andy Roddick believes that the 24-time Grand Slam champion is hard done by in terms of how he acts especially off-court and to people around tennis.
While picking out Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in particular, he said that Djokovic doesn't get enough credit for the way he is and he used his own anecdotes to laud the trio while lamenting his own personal bug bears with players throwing grip tape on the floor and making someone pick it up for instance. But while Djokovic is polarising, Roddick sees it different in terms of his sportsmanship.
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"There are a lot of tour guys who aren't nearly as good as Rafa, who, I said this about Roger too back in the day, but they will switch their grip tapes out, re-grip, then leave something on the floor and just walk away. It drives me absolutely crazy, they'll get a stretch from the trainer, get up and not say ‘Thank You’ and walk out. It just drives me crazy.
"It's been nice in tennis that two of your top three stewards, including Novak, Novak actually, he doesn't get enough credit for how friendly he is with people in and around the locker room."
"I know how Rafa was in the locker room, it feels like he never had a bad day and even if he was having a bad day, it never got in the way of him being cordial, respectful."
"It's nice to see that those guys reset the table on, 'Hey listen, I'm one of the best players of all time, I'm one of the favorites every time I walk into a locker room but there’s also common courtesy involved with the way I go day to day'."
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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