"He's harassed for a long time" - Andy Roddick continues feud with Novak Djokovic fan amid Serb's Wimbledon update
Andy Roddick was recently embroiled in a feud with a fan over Novak Djokovic's injury and his subsequent participation in Wimbledon. The American has been at loggerheads with this particular fan for a couple of days now.
The incident began when Roddick commented about Djokovic's speed of recovery from the knee surgery. He said that the Serb "wants the attention of flirting with a Wimbledon bid" on his podcast 'Served with Andy Roddick'.
Roddick had a back-and-forth with the fan since June 22. The latest exchange between the two started after Djokovic came out with a statement about his Wimbledon participation.
"I'm going to do my best to know how I am before the draw is made. I didn't come here to get through a few rounds. I'm going to play if I'm sure. If I can't play, I'll hit someone else that opportunity. I'm only going to play if I'm in a position to go far and fight for the title," Djokovic said.
Roddick pointed out that Djokovic echoed the same sentiments about withdrawing before the draw came out as the American had previously said in his podcast. He said on his podcast that he hoped Djokovic would pull out at least a week before the draw if he could not attain match fitness so that the draw was not weakened. Roddick also added that he hoped the 24-time Grand Slam champion would recover in time for SW19.
"Hhhhmm ……. Before the draw comes out ….. feel like I’ve heard this somewhere. Tiny got really mad when I suggested this. L L L," Andy Roddick wrote on X.
Roddick's above tweet was in response to an earlier post from the Serb's fan:
A fan sided with the American and responded that Roddick should block the troll, to which he replied:
"Because he’s harassed for a very long time. He’s blocked but that doesn’t mean I don’t see the vitriol in comments of conversations he’s started ……. Figured he’d go away. He hasn’t. Took a swing, said my piece and will continue ignoring."
Andy Roddick - "You want your GOATS in the tournament"
Andy Roddick remained optimistic about Novak Djokovic's participation at Wimbledon 2024. The former World No. 1 said in an interview with the Tennis Channel that there were positive signs from Djokovic's camp.
"You are looking at signs of good news as far as him playing. I think him drawing attention to his injury, posting videos of his rehab is a positive sign. Obviously, if you travel to London, and you make a jog to Wimbledon, it's not because you are not planning on playing, right? It's because you think you have a chance of playing. So all of this is great news," Roddick said.
The American said he thought the timeline of return was short but maintained that it was encouraging news for the tennis world.
"I thought the timeline was too short, I am a big dummy, obviously, I never operated at the same level as Novak. This is encouraging, this is exciting for tennis. You want your GOATS in the tournament. Looks like Novak is going to give it a run," he added.
Novak Djokovic has won Wimbledon seven times and would be looking to add to his tally this season to go on par with Roger Federer.