Novak Djokovic vs Andy Roddick was one of the spiciest rivalries in tennis a few years ago

Andy Roddick might be known for his blistering serves but it Novak Djokovic got under his skin a few years ago.

The American was known to be a hothead while Djokovic was just coming through the ranks in 2008.

The pair met in the quarter-final of the 2008 US Open. Djokovic, at that time, wasn’t the incredible fighter that he is now.

The Serbian was known to take timeouts and try to break up the rhythm of his opponent, something he had already done in the previous game against Tommy Robredo.

Roddick was speaking to the press before his clash against Djokovic and listed out several ailments, like SARS, anthrax and the common cold that affected Djokovic.

The match didn’t go in Roddick’s way as Djokovic won in four sets. It was a heated affair between the pair, and the Serbian was able to pick up his second win over Roddick in three games.

The Serbian also played his part as he hit out at the crowd. They were booing him throughout the game as Roddick lost out.

That was expected as Roddick was the home-boy and one of the best in the world, but Djokovic had an answer for everything.

He also took a shot at the crowd and joked about his list of injuries too:

“Well, obviously Andy was saying I had 16 injuries. Obviously I don’t, right? I know [the fans] are already against me because they think I am faking everything. That’s not nice anyhow to say in front of this crowd that I have 16 injuries and that I’m faking it.”

Roddick wanted to beat Djokovic

The American also came on a Fox interview in 2013 and went on to say that he almost beat Djokovic up.

Roddick told the interviewer that he went up against a tennis player whose named rhymed with “Schmovak Schmokovic”.

“I was talking trash, and he came out and beat the pants off me, as he would, but then kind of chirped afterwards.

“So he comes straight in, I went right up to him, had him up against the locker. But then I realised his trainer was a little bit bigger than Donovan [McNabb, an NFL player also on Fox Sports Live] and I kind of checked myself.”

Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and Roddick also posted a tweet suggesting that things have been alright between the pair.

The American highlighted that emotional outbursts were “regrettable” and the pair have been OK for a while.

https://twitter.com/andyroddick/status/385815441429385216?s=20

Andy Roddick vs Novak Djokovic head to head

The pair met nine times on the ATP circuit and surprisingly, it is Roddick who has the better record between them.

Roddick won five games compared to Djokovic’s four and the last meeting between the pair was in the 2012 London Olympics.

Djokovic beat the American but was defeated by eventual winner Andy Murray in the semi-finals.

Djokovic also won the last two clashes between the pair, but he now seems to be a more level-headed player.

The Serbian is in the form of his life, even at 32, and recently won the 2020 Australian Open.

Djokovic has 17 Grand Slam titles to his name and is just three behind Roger Federer.

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