The Joke is on Djokovic... and He's Not Laughing
The big story after the Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick quarterfinal match at the 2008 U.S. Open last night was less about the tennis played than Djokovic’s on-court comments to the interviewer immediately after the match ended. Djokovic complained about Roddick’s comments in his press conference two days earlier in which Roddick had echoed statements by Tommy Robredo, who had lost to Djokovic in five sets and had
complained about Djokovic’s calls for the trainer during their match. Roddick in his comments had joked about Djokovic’s myriad health problems and injuries. Novak was clearly not amused. After losing to Djokovic last night, Roddick explained in his post-match press conference that he meant his comments about Djokovic to be a joke. Andy admitted that he should have been more careful with his words. Djokovic became famous for his impressions at the 2007 U.S. Open when he performed his comic renditions of Maria Sharapova, Rafael Nadal, etc. on national television. Perhaps not every player was amused by Novak’s “joking around” and impersonations of the various players’ on-court habits… that’s the problem with teasing, underneath the “joke” is often a kernel or two of truth which sometimes hurts. Andy Roddick and Novak Djokovic play tennis in a global arena and their “shots,” on the tennis court and off, can be heard round the world. In the future, one guesses that both Djokovic and Roddick may pause for a second next time before joking publicly about fellow players.
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