Novak Djokovic‘s frustrations were evident during his match against Luca Nardi at the 2024 Indian Wells Open, drawing criticism from Andy Roddick.
Recognizing that Djokovic, like any human, isn’t flawless, and has never claimed to be, his occasional outbursts on the tennis court have become part of his reputation. While he has generally managed to maintain control, there are moments when his emotions get the better of him. Such was the case at the recent Indian Wells Open encounter with Luca Nardi.
Djokovic endured a disappointing match, ultimately losing to the 123rd-ranked player in three sets. The incident left a sense of desperation in Roddick, who discussed the matter on the latest episode of his ‘Served with Roddick’ podcast.
“It’s a desperation move, I don’t see any world where Novak [Djokovic] should ever be desperate against someone ranked 123 in the world. One, the guy didn’t stop. Like, you watch it, he didn’t stop.”
Novak Djokovic was unhappy during his match against Luca Nardi at the 2024 Indian Wells Open. He believed Nardi had stopped playing, so Djokovic also stopped. However, Nardi continued and won the point, which frustrated Djokovic. He argued with the umpire, and Andy Roddick found this behavior odd, as he discussed on his podcast.
“Like, there have been 27 other clips of him (Djokovic) where… and I hate this, to turn back the clock 13 years and expect us to remember a certain point, but like there are all these things of Novak kind of definitely not stopping, but stopping way more than Nardi did in that point.
“Nardi did not stop. and even if your opponents stops, that doesn’t mean that you have to. Quite the opposite! If they stop, you keep going, you win the point”.
Roddick expressed his disapproval of the entire sequence of events, finding it desperate coming from arguably the best player in the world. He also took issue with Djokovic’s manner of addressing his opponent about the situation during the handshake.
“So it’s like, to choose to… one, be wrong about what someone else is doing. Then make the wrong decision on continuation, then make a stink about it to the ref, and then mention it to a young player who just had the biggest moment of their lives at the handshake is just an unforced error in my mind.”