Earlier in his career, Novak Djokovic was often accused by fellow players of often retiring mid-match, taking extended medical timeouts, blaming just about anything after losing, and suffering from too many injuries.
A similar incident happened at the 2008 US Open when Djokovic beat Tommy Robredo 4-6 6-2 6-3 5-7 6-3 in the fourth round but complained about multiple physical issues during his match.
Reacting to this in a press conference, the Serb's next opponent and former World No. 1 Andy Roddick sarcastically asked a journalist whether Djokovic had a "back and hip injury, cramps, bird flu, common cold, and SARS as well."
Djokovic defeated the local champion 6-2 6-3 3-6 7-6(5) in their quarterfinal clash and gave a strong reaction in lieu of the American's earlier comments. In the on-court interview, the Serb expressed his jubilation at beating Roddick in front of his home crowd.
"I am really happy playing against Roddick on his court and in his city in his favorite tournament, so to win against him is a huge effort. I have nothing against anybody. Andy was saying that I have 16 injuries in the last match, so obviously I don't, right?" Djokovic said.
Earlier this week, a fan asked the American about the seriousness of the incident between the two players.
"How serious was your beef with Novak in the late 2000s? I read something about an almost locker room fight," a fan asked Roddick.
Roddick was quick to reply, saying that incidents like this one happen in sports all the time. He also assured everyone that both of them resolved their differences soon after.
"Stuff like that happened a lot in locker rooms in heat of the moment. Wouldn’t have come to blows. Never does. There were heated words. We actually talked it out that same night and have been fine ever since. We always have a nice hello when we see each other. All good," Roddick replied.
Andy Roddick and Novak Djokovic played each other nine times, with the American leading 5-4 in career meetings.