In the late 2000s, Novak Djokovic’s star was just beginning to rise. In 2008, the tennis player won his first major and has already reached the final stages of the Grand Slam tournaments. The US Open was no exception, in which only future champion Roger Federer managed to stop the Serb.
Djokovic achieved his last victory in that draw for the United States Championship in the quarterfinal phase, where he faced the owner of the court, Andy Roddick. Before the game, the American taunted the young rival and then paid for his rudeness on the pitch.
The athlete could not bear the humiliation and literally attacked the Serb with his fists.
colic and bird flu
Before meeting the 21-year-old Djokovic, the American tennis player did not have much respect for his opponent. Roddick, who already had a victory at the local US Open behind him, considered himself clearly the favorite of the match and during the interview he allowed himself to openly mock his younger opponent. When Andy was asked about Novak’s previous victory, he reacted sarcastically, stating that he was able to win thanks to “16 damage”, which he allegedly faked during a five-set match.
– A back injury, and even a hip injury? What about colic, bird flu and coronavirus?
The American’s joke, as it turned out, did not please Djokovic. Perhaps, in part, she even helped him tune into the game, into which he came out extremely charged. In the first half of the match, Novak, to the chagrin of the stands, left the 26-year-old opponent no chance: 6:2, 6:3 – the Serb was going to win in three sets.
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Roddick managed to recover only in the third game (3-6), but he still lacked the strength to turn the tide of the match. In the last set, the confrontation between tennis players reached a tie-break for the first time, in which Djokovic won: 7-6 (7-5). For Andy, this loss was truly humiliating, especially considering his bragging in a pre-match interview. Novak, after the match, did not miss the opportunity to additionally run over the rival:
-It is very ugly to say publicly that I have 16 injuries and that I invented them all. Now it’s obvious I don’t have them, right? Think what you want, but everything is as it is – said Djokovic, after hearing a dissatisfied shout in response from the stands.
“I pinned him to the locker”
Shortly after this interview, the conflict between the Serbs and the Americans took a new turn. Djokovic’s words infuriated Roddick, after which he decided to treat him like a man already in the locker room. Andy told this incident to the press only a few years later, already clearly ironic with his behavior:
– Before the game I was talking nonsense, and he came out and smeared me on the wall, the best he could. But after the game he blurted something out and walked past me into the locker room. I ran to him and pressed him against the locker, the athlete recalled.
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The fight, however, did not come to fruition. The American admitted that he had changed his mind about scaling Novak with his fists, looking at the seven-foot Serbian trainer standing nearby. As a result, the athletes managed to resolve the issue peacefully, so already at the post-match press conference both spoke in a different spirit. Roddick said his words about injuries were just a joke, and Djokovic admitted that he misunderstood the American and went too far with his reaction. At the time, the tennis players refused to reveal the details of their locker room discussion, but later the secret, apparently, became clear.
Djokovic was sensationally thrown out of the US Open. He knocked the referee to the court with one punch
