Novak Djokovic may have gained safe passage into the Wimbledon quarter-finals yesterday, but it could have been so much different.
After all, there was a key flashpoint provided by what Andy Roddick described as a ‘scratchy’ version of the Serbian, who never quite seemed emotionally comfortable despite winning with relative ease.
There, as he frustratedly fired the ball towards the back of the court, fans of the 24-time Grand Slam champion will have had flashbacks to his 2020 disqualification from the US Open.
There, he hit a ball in similar fashion, but was unfortunate enough to strike a line judge. The organisers had no choice but to default him.
Roddick, speaking on his Served with Andy Roddick podcast, admitted he was worried about a repeat in Novak Djokovic’s Wimbledon match yesterday.
Andy Roddick reacts as Novak Djokovic fortunately avoids disqualification
He recalled: “Novak was scratchy, played well in the second set. In the third set. He got, like, chippy. Everything seemed, like, settled, and he kind of got into it. He said in his post-match, like, the tantrums. I probably went overboard.
“He got broken and Safiullin kind of buzzed the tower on one, but it was a clean play; he wasn’t trying to, like, do anything to his own detriment there, but, like, buzzed the tower. I don’t think Novak was that upset about that. I think he was more upset about maybe hitting an average volley.
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“But fired the ball across the court to the backstop, like, all the way through. I mean, there weren’t any ball kids around. It was the back again, but, like, I had visions of that US Open when he fired one against the backstop.
“And it was maybe we had a weird angle in the bunker, but maybe two feet, and then it would have brought in the camera guys also that are above the court.
“I mean, it was just… For a minute, I was like, it came off his racket, and I was like, oh, gosh. Like, this call is about to change a lot. This tournament just, like, I mean, it’s hard to make sense out of it.”
Roddick then spoke about Djokovic’s mindset in general, and how he seemed to struggle to find the edge that has made him so good over the years.
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He added: “You know, everything can be going right, and then something goes wrong, but he plays the best when he has a chip. He’s chasing, he’s the hunter, he’s defending.
“It feels like if the energy isn’t there, he can find an outlet. He finds a single person in the crowd of 23,000 people who he doesn’t like what they’re saying, and he can basically use anyone as a tractor beam to find the energy that he needs to kind of play off of.
“You know, and it’s a weird thing because he’s now in the phase of his career where everyone is paying and the totally earned and deserved appreciation tax. Like, how can you not? It’s tougher to find that negative energy, right?”
Djokovic also narrowly avoided disqualification at the Australian Open earlier this year. This kind of exhibition of frustration is not new.
When Novak Djokovic got disqualified from the 2020 US Open
Djokovic should know better. That is what Roddick alludes to in his assessment of the incident.
After all, back in 2020, it caused arguably one of the lowest moments of his career, as he was disqualified from the US Open for lashing the ball in anger and accidentally hitting a line judge.
Facing Pablo Carreno Busta in the fourth round of an event where he was the overwhelming favourite to win, it was a moment of true madness that cost him the title.
Afterwards, he admitted: “This whole situation has left me really sad and empty.
“I checked on the lines person and the tournament told me that thank God she is feeling ok. I‘m extremely sorry to have caused her such stress. So unintended. So wrong.”
Djokovic claimed Safiullin did something he has rarely experienced in his career afterwards, to perhaps explain his frustration.
