“He was this new guy who didn’t care,” Andy Roddick admits he didn’t give Novak Djokovic the respect he deserved during his playing days

Roddick said he shared the same thoughts with the Swiss maestro about Djokovic. 

“He was this new guy who didn’t care,” Andy Roddick admits he didn’t give Novak Djokovic the respect he deserved during his playing days

Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick (Images via Imago)

When Novak Djokovic arrived on the scene with a mindset of winning at all costs, there were some errors in his techniques making Roger Federer think that he probably wouldn’t face as much competition from the Serb. Federer revealed in his Amazon Prime Video documentary Federer: Twelve Final Days that he didn’t give much respect to Djokovic back then. Andy Roddick said even he didn’t respect Djokovic much.

But more than two decades later, Djokovic stands top with the most Grand Slam titles winning 24 of them, four more than Federer who won his 20th and last Grand Slam title in the 2018 Australian Open. Roddick, who was defeated three times in the Wimbledon final (2004, 2005, 2009) by Federer, watched his documentary and said he shared the same thoughts with the Swiss maestro about Djokovic. 

YouTube video
Yeah, I read a quote from the documentary and it's probably something that we all guilty of in that generation. He said something along the lines of I didn't give Novak the respect he deserved when he was younger…I don't think I did either. 
Andy Roddick said on his Served with Andy Roddick podcast 

The former US Open met Djokovic just nine times and led the head-to-head record 5-4. He admitted he liked Federer acknowledging what he used to think about Djokovic. 

FS Video
When he came in he was the guy breaking up The Beatles. Like he was this new guy who didn't care that these were greats…he wanted to take their lunch like he was there to steal titles from them. I like that Roger said it out loud…I made the same mistake, you know. 
Andy Roddick added 

Federer met Djokovic for the first time in the 2006 Monte-Carlo Masters and beat him in three sets. In total, they met 50 times with Djokovic winning 27 of them.

Novak Djokovic will face Vit Kopriva in Wimbledon first round 

Wimbledon Championships starts on July 1 and Novak Djokovic is set to play against Vit Kopriva on that day and it came after the Serb said he was not confident of his participation. He had surgery earlier this June after injuring his right knee during the Roland Garros fourth round which forced him to pull out of the quarterfinals. 

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic (Image via X)

Djokovic started training at Wimbledon but is yet speak anything about his condition. In an interview a few days ago, he stated that he will only play if he achieves full fitness. 

Djokovic is a seven-time Wimbledon champion, lifting the trophy in 2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022. Last year he reached the final but lost to Carlos Alcaraz. 

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