Andy Roddick is one pundit always keen to make his feelings known on current events in tennis, so when a Grand Slam is on, he kicks into overdrive.
The former world number one has become one of the paramount voices in the tennis community, and is more than willing to give his verdict on everything from political issues within the sport to tournament predictions.
However, with Roland Garros having just started yesterday, the latter has been far more prevalent, with Roddick predicting Rafael Nadal vs Alexander Zverev already.
But, he couldn’t possibly have gone through the full French Open draw without offering his verdict on the out-of-sorts but still legendary figure that is Novak Djokovic.
Andy Roddick makes bold Novak Djokovic prediction
The Serbian superstar has reached such a level of success that the entire community is left stunned to see him without a title as of late May.
It is simply unthinkable, especially for the man who won three of the four Grand Slam titles last year whilst also winning the ATP Finals, only losing in the Wimbledon final to miss out on the clean sweep.
But, here we are. Djokovic continues to prove that he is in fact human, and as such Roddick has predicted as if that were true.
Speaking on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast, the 41-year-old noted: ‘Alright. Novak vs Herbert. Alright I’ll do it. Upset… Not doing it, that’s definitely not true. That was a ‘thank you for your career’ wild card, which happens and it’s their right to do.
‘[Carballés] Baena… This is a nice start for Novak. He’s going to beat Herbert. Baena is a great match-up for him I think. It’s a great second round for Novak, he’s going to be able to hit a lot of balls, dictate play.
‘Herbert serves big but he has to come in on clay. He’d rather be on a fast court, he’ll miss shots. He’s going to try and play quick, come in off second serves and do the confuse and conquer method. There’s going to be peaks and valleys and Novak is going to cruise right through those.
‘[Thiago] Seyboth Wild. Not a huge server. Novak is going to be in every single return game. Novak is in the fourth round.
‘However it shakes out, Novak is going through to the quarters. I like this draw for Novak overall.
‘I have Novak vs Tommy Paul. I’m then going to take Novak vs Fritz in the quarters.
‘[Next] I have Novak vs Zverev [in the semi-finals]. I’ll take Zverev in the final.’
Novak Djokovic will surely return to form at Roland Garros
Despite his poor form, to discount Djokovic would be a very foolish move.
Many have done over the years, and all have been proven wrong eventually.
Given his age, it is a quick excuse to attribute his sudden decline to that. After all, he has just turned 37, and other legends of his age like Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray have not enjoyed half as much success as he has in the last two years.
However, it is his own unthinkable efforts that have set the bar so high, and what therefore made early exits in Rome and Indian Wells so startling.
But it is also worth noting that Djokovic has not been completely devoid of form through all of 2024, and actually reached the semi-finals of the last Grand Slam in Melbourne.
There, he brushed aside the likes of Tomas Etcheverry and Taylor Fritz before being beaten by the eventual winner Jannik Sinner. There is no embarrassment in that.
Perhaps, returning to the long-form five-set matches might actually benefit the athletic animal Djokovic, who has outlasted everyone in world tennis across two decades.
This poor form cannot carry on forever. He is simply too good for that to be the case.
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