Novak Djokovic has potentially one of the most intriguing career stories in sporting history.
After all, emerging from war-torn Serbia, he developed from an emotional youngster who struggled physically into arguably one of the fittest players tennis has ever seen, having won every major title that the sport has to offer.
And even now, at 39 years old, he remains highly relevant and competitive on tour.
Alas, as touched upon, this was not always the case.
Speaking on the latest episode of his podcast, answering fan questions, Andy Roddick recalled his first thoughts when Novak Djokovic first began to emerge onto the ATP Tour.
Andy Roddick recalls when Novak Djokovic broke through onto the ATP Tour
He also echoed that sentiment about Djokovic’s initial physical frailties.
The American claimed: “Yeah, I remember, like, I remember in 06, I was playing the US Open, and he played Hewitt, and I didn’t know much about him at the time. I think he’d won a tour event that summer, but I remember wanting him to win because I didn’t want to play Lleyton.
Will Novak Djokovic play any events on clay this year?
He could skip clay entirely…
“Yeah, so I remember that, and then 07, obviously, he broke out, like in a massive way, like, quickly. And then, I think of Canada, I lost to him in the quarters, I forget what order it was. It was like, and then he beat Roger Rafa, I think, [in the] semis [and then the] finals.
“And I think he was the first person to beat three, two, one in a row at a Masters 1000. That’s an arrival.”
However, Roddick was keen to distance Djokovic’s emergence from Rafael Nadal’s explosion, adding: “But you wouldn’t have imagined, because a serve was all out of whack, you wouldn’t have imagined him being what he is now then, though.
“Like, it’s not like a Rafa where he came out and like this guy’s gonna win every French Open. Like, it was very obvious.
“Novak, at that time, the serve was not great, and he would get tired in matches. Like, you got him in the heat in long matches, he didn’t like it. And it was no secret.
“So there’s no way that you could have projected forward to the year 2026 and say, This guy has made a living on discipline, staying in matches, doing everything, going through these wars, winning five-setters against Jannik Sinner at almost 40 years old.
“I don’t know that anyone would have projected that forward from where he was, which is a testament to him kind of leaving no stone unturned.”
This came after Roddick pointed out what tennis fans overlook about Roger Federer’s career, discussing the Big Three throughout this episode.
When Novak Djokovic plans to retire from tennis
Whilst few would have expected Djokovic to have won all that he has, even fewer would likely have predicted him to have become the picture of well-being and longevity.
At 39 years old, he has just reached the most recent Grand Slam final, fresh from making the semi-finals of all four majors last year.
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And, despite severely reducing his calendar, the Serbian attests that retirement is not imminent.
In fact, when asked about when he might call time on his career, Djokovic remains firm on when he plans to retire, claiming: “I wish to retire at the 2028 Olympic Games with the Serbian flag in my hands.”
