Novak Djokovic entered the Australian Open semifinals after Lorenzo Mussetti retired due to a leg injury despite being two sets up. In the press conference, a reporter annoyed Djokovic by asking how the Serb feels chasing the next generation (Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner) in a similar way to how he once chased Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic didn’t agree with the question and found it “disrespectful.” Djokovic disagreed that he’s not chasing anyone when he himself is at the top with 24 Grand Slams. Currently, he is focused on his own goals and legacy.
On Thursday’s “Served” podcast, Andy Roddick and Kim Clijsters shared their views on Djokovic’s response. Clijsters thinks it was a nice question by the reporter and that she was disappointed by the Serb’s answer.
“I thought it was a great question,” Clijsters said. “Alcaraz and Sinner, they’re chasing the 24… I would have loved him to go a little bit more into how that approach is different now compared to when you were just coming on tour and you were playing guys like Roger and Rafa. What is that approach like now when you’re almost 40? What’s it like in your mindset having won 24 Grand Slams, having been able to find solutions when you’ve been down? How is that different now? And yeah, I just would have really enjoyed listening to his answer about those two periods.”
Andy Roddick Dissects Why Novak Djokovic Gave Such Response
While Kim Clijsters pondered on what she would have liked to hear from Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick added where that kind of answer was coming from.
Djokovic’s journey at the Australian Open has been quite interesting. From almost getting disqualified to receiving two retirements advances, Djokovic is getting blamed for getting lucky this year in Melbourne.
“He almost hit a ball kid and stayed in the tournament, so he’s having to defend that,” Roddick said. “Okay, he gets a walkover and then people are like, ‘Oh, that’s lucky.’ He’s having to defend that. He’s like, ‘I’m not lucky. I’m Novak Djokovic. I can do this. Me getting a walkover isn’t earth-shattering.’ And then he goes and gets run out of the building the first two sets against Mussetti, and then gets a walkover again. So for the last week of his life, all he’s been doing is defending. In my personal opinion, and I’m not a psychologist, but I’ve just seen Novak over time, he needed to play some offense.”
It remains to be seen if Djokovic can answer in style by winning against Jannik Sinner in the upcoming semifinals of the Australian Open.
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