Andy Roddick has taken a swipe at Novak Djokovic for something which he needlessly did during his defeat to Luca Nardi. The lucky loser sent the serial Grand Slam winner packing with an epic win at the recent Indian Wells tournament.
Carlos Alcaraz claimed victory at the tournament but on the latest Served with Andy Roddick Podcast, he’s discussed Djokovic instead.
During the shock defeat, Djokovic had a fierce argument with the umpire following a point that Nardi won. Roddick didn’t enjoy the moment and felt the 36-year-old was in the wrong.
Andy Roddick hated something Novak Djokovic did at Indian Wells
Well, the incident didn’t look particularly good on Djokovic. He had a conversation with the umpire when Nardi nonchalantly chipped the ball over the net to win a point, despite the Serb claiming he’d stopped.
The umpire gave the Italian the point and the conversation rumbled on after the match. Roddick felt that it wasn’t a good look for Djokovic behaving in such a manner.
He told the Served with Andy Roddick Podcast: “I don’t see any world where Novak should be desperate against someone ranked 123 in the world. One, the guy didn’t stop. Like, you watch it back, the guy didn’t stop.
“There have been 27 other clips, and I hate this because people turn back the clock 13 years and expect us to remember a certain point, but there are all these things of Novak definitely, not stopping, but stopping way more than Nardi did. And even if your opponent stops, that doesn’t mean you have to. Quite the opposite. If your opponent stops you keep going, and you win the point.
“To choose one, be wrong about what someone else is doing, then make the wrong decision on continuation, then make a stink about it to the ref, and then mention it to a young player who just had the biggest moment of their lives at the handshake is just an unforced error.”
Nardi clearly upset Djokovic and Roddick is right
The 4-6, 6-3, 3-6 defeat to the player who didn’t even qualify for the tournament originally will give lots of the top players a clear message… Djokovic is very beatable these days!
Jannik Sinner downed Djokovic at the Australian Open and perhaps the crown is starting to slip somewhat as a new guard prepares to take over the game.
Nardi didn’t do anything wrong in the situation that is being referred to. It appeared as though Djokovic was frustrated with how things were going and chose to make a mountain out of a mole hill.
Roddick was right to call Djokovic out in this situation. The player has pulled out of the Miami Open this week and it now remains to be seen when he will be back on the court after defeat to Nardi.
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