"Novak Djokovic's worst performing year ever is like a career year for most" - Andy Roddick

Andy Roddick has said that Novak Djokovic's worst year is still better than most players' career years. The Serb is yet to secure a title on the ATP tour this season.

This year, Djokovic has participated in a limited number of tournaments. He competed in all four Grand Slam events but has not managed to clinch any titles. He reached the semifinals of the Australian Open before falling to eventual champion Jannik Sinner, made it to the quarterfinals in Paris, and the final at Wimbledon, where he was defeated by Carlos Alcaraz.

At the US Open, the former World No. 1 reached the third round before losing to Alexei Popyrin.

One of Novak Djokovic's significant achievements this year was winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, where he defeated Alcaraz in the final. This marked his second Olympic medal, following a bronze medal he won at the 2008 Beijing Olympics

During a recent episode of the "Served with Andy Roddick" podcast, Roddick talked about Djokovic's performance at the 2024 Shanghai Masters. The Serb aimed for his fifth title at the Masters 1000 hard court tournament but fell short in the final against Jannik Sinner, losing 7–6(4), 6–3.

Roddick commended the 24-time Grand Slam champion's performance in the Shanghai Masters final. Djokovic had not played an ATP tour match since his US Open exit and still reached the final of a Masters 1000 tournament at 37.

“One thing I want to talk about is, on the men’s side no surprise, [Jannik] Sinner–Novak [Djokovic] final, like Novak coming back and going through a Masters 1000 draw at 37, he hasn’t played since the Open, I guess he played Davis Cup but haven’t played an ATP match since the Open,” Roddick said [22:55].

“I was struck by his press conference afterwards when someone asked about the negative results, I thought his take was completely rational. In a world where we kind of train ourselves and especially the great ones almost train yourself to be a master of being irrational sometimes. He goes, ‘Yeah like listen, this is my worst performing year for a long time. It was bound to happen at some point. I’m still happy with my gold medal, oh by the way,’” he added.

Andy Roddick commented on Novak Djokovic's remark about 2024 being his worst year despite reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open, the final at Wimbledon, and winning a gold medal at the Paris Olympics.

“But let’s think about this just for a second and put it in terms of like normies, like his worst performing year ever – he made the semifinals of Australia, the finals of Wimbledon, won Olympic gold, finals of Masters 1000. Like that’s a career year for most of us. But I thought it was completely rational.”

Furthermore, Roddick noted that a decline in Djokovic's performance was inevitable as he is no longer in his 30s and now faces "two monsters" - Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who are in their prime.

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Novak Djokovic is currently competing at the Six Kings Slam

Novak Djokovic is currently in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to compete at the Six Kings Slam, an exhibition tournament. Other players in the tournament are Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev, Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, and Holger Rune.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion and Nadal have received a bye to the semifinals, where Djokovic will face off against Sinner. The Italian secured his spot in the final four by defeating Medvedev 6-0, 6-3 in the quarterfinals.

The winner of the semifinal match between Sinner and Djokovic will face either Nadal or Alcaraz in the final.