French Open 2024: Frantic Novak Djokovic’s Sudden Tennis Move Leaves Andy Roddick Completely ‘Shocked’

Yet to win a title this year, Novak Djokovic is doing everything he can to break his winless streak. The Serb has played five tournaments in 2024 and hasn’t even reached the final, let alone lifting a trophy. However, the World No. 1 wants this to change with just days left for the French Open to commence. Yesterday, reports emerged that Djokovic had accepted a wildcard entry to play in the Geneva Open. This decision surprised many in the tennis world, including Andy Roddick.

The American legend recently appeared in the Tennis Channel Live Podcast where he spoke at length about Djokovic’s decision to play an ATP 250 even days before the clay-court Grand Slam tournament. Roddick said, “I like to move and I’m also shocked by it. 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.”

Further, he went on to add, “So it definitely proves the point that we’ve been beating home all week that is something is different. You need matches, even the best of all time. Sometimes you need some reps and some some real reps right? You can feel great in practice that you can’t mimic that. So I think it’s the right move. And hey, I’m sure I’m sure that Geneva Open is pretty pumped about getting him for free.”

While winning a title before the clay-court major is certainly playing into his mind, there might be another interesting reason why Djokovic has decided to play the ATP 250 Geneva Open. This angle is related to none other than his rival, Roger Federer.

Is Novak Djokovic playing in Geneva with Roger Federer’s record in mind?

Despite the Serb dominating the tennis circuit for quite a few years now, there is a big record that he has yet to achieve. During his illustrious career, Djokovic has won 98 titles. Although this might sound like a humongous figure, Djokovic is still 5 short of Roger Federer’s record of 103 titles.

The upcoming Geneva Open will prove to be a golden opportunity for Djokovic to close in on Federer as many top players like Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev will skip this event. As a result, there were widespread speculations that Djokovic was playing in Federer’s home country with his record in mind.

Nonetheless, it won’t be a cakewalk for Djokovic in this event, given his recent form. He’ll have to overcome the challenge of the likes of Casper Ruud and Taylor Fritz to put his hands on the trophy.