Andy Roddick sceptical about Novak Djokovic’s tennis future

Andy Roddick fears that Novak Djokovic’s years of being competitive on the ATP Tour are over after the Serbian was forced to withdraw from the Australian Open with a hamstring tear late last week.

Djokovic entered the Australian Open on the third line of betting across most tennis bookmakers, behind eventual champion Jannik Sinner and world No.3 Carlos Alcaraz.

He upset Alcaraz in the quarter-finals, eliminating the Spaniard in an impressive four-set effort.

However, a muscle tear suffered during the match meant he was forced to retire just one set into his semi-final against Alexander Zverev.

Roddick spoke about the incident on his podcast, emphasising how challenging the cycle of recovery is for someone Djokovic’s age.

“Novak was playing great in Australia,” he said.

“Obviously the match against Alcaraz was great and beating Machac in straight sets was great.

“Against Alcaraz, set three and four was vintage Novak from two ago or before.

“He has fought off time as well as anyone in tennis history, but French Open last year it was his knee and he managed it and got to the final of Wimbledon on one leg.

“Now coming into this year, there is another tear and I’d be surprised if we see him for a couple of months.

“I fear that at that age, you get into that cycle of rehab… can your body recover?

“We act surprised every time someone gets older, but it’s tough as you have to build up again after an injury.”

Despite Roddick’s doubts over Djokovic’s longevity, tennis betting sites are still rating the 24-time Grand Slam champion as a live chance at each of the year’s remaining majors.

Djokovic himself is yet to release any more information on the injury he sustained at the Australian Open, besides sharing an image of the MRI scan showing a tear in his hamstring.

He tweeted the scan in sarcastic post for “all the sports injury experts out there” in response to rumours that he had been faking the injury.

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