Andy Roddick has told that he is bewildered by Novak Djokovic’s decision to play the Geneva Open as a prepratory event before the 2024 Roland Garros.
The American former World No. 1 believes Djokovic has made a right choice however, he feels the 24-time Grand Slam champion needs match practice before landing in Paris.
Djokovic will make his debut appearance at the ATP 250 event in Geneva this week just before the Roland Garros which is scheduled to get underway on Sunday. The World No. 1 will face the winner of Yannick Hanfmann and Andy Murray in the opener.
Djokovic is yet to reach a final in 2024 and maintains a 12-5 record in a rocky campaign to start the season. The 36-year-old suffered a 2-6, 3-6 loss against Alejandro Tabilo in just an hour and 7 minutes in the R3 at the Italian Open.
Djokovic last played a tournament the week before the French Open in 2021 – his home ATP 250 event Belgrade Open – to steal the second of his three Roland Garros titles.
On the Tennis Channel Live podcast, Roddick expressed his shock at the Serbian’s decision to play in Geneva but backed his choice.
“I like the move and I’m also shocked by it,” Roddick said. “You know, it’s strange because he has been so confident just entering the biggest tournaments in the world without a lot of prep work, right?
“He’s made a habit of that and been successful at it over the last three or four years. So, it definitely proves the point that we’ve been beating home all week that if something is different, you need matches — even the best of all time.
“Sometimes you need some reps and some real reps, right? You can feel great in practice, you can’t mimic that. So I think it’s the right move. And hey, I’m sure I’m sure the Geneva Open is pretty pumped about getting him for free.”
The 2003 US Open champion also offered insights on the strength of the Geneva draw featuring big names like Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, and Ben Shelton.
“It’s interesting, Casper is a little more understandable because he hasn’t played great in Madrid or Rome, took some early losses,” he said.
“Taylor Fritz is like allergic to rest. It’s like he’s allergic to weeks off. I don’t fully understand it, but I also don’t really know Taylor. Obviously he likes to play, match reps going in…
“Normally these 250s the week before a Slam, you don’t get a top shelf like this, you don’t get the top four seeds all in the top 12 or 13 in the world.
“This is a good showout for Geneva. I was surprised by Novak, I’m surprised Taylor would continue to go. Less surprised by Ruud and Shelton,” assessed the 32-time ATP tour titlist.
In a recent episode of the Served with Andy Roddick podcast, Roddick also highlighted Djokovic’s struggles in 2024 following his lost to Chilean in eternal city of Rome.
“I’m more concerned about his tennis game than I’ve been in probably like, 15 years,” said the American.
“Knowing that, maybe he just needs a bunch of us saying that, you know, the kind of ‘me against the world’ mentality that he’s mastered over the course of his career. But how long can we say, ‘He’ll turn it around’? I’ve been saying that the entire year.
“This one was weird, I thought he’d ramp up. You’re looking at the French Open, at Wimbledon, he said he’s prioritized the Olympics, you felt like the ramp-up was coming. That wasn’t a ramp-up.”