{"id":21924,"date":"2026-06-20T10:38:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T10:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/21924\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T10:38:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T10:38:16","slug":"i-guarantee-you-he-knows-this-is-a-shot-andy-roddick-sees-wimbledon-as-novak-djokovics-real-chance-at-grand-slam-no-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/21924\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI guarantee you\u2014he knows this is a shot\u201d: Andy Roddick sees Wimbledon as Novak Djokovic\u2019s real chance at Grand Slam No. 25"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andy Roddick<\/a> used his Served<\/a> podcast to assess Novak Djokovic<\/a>\u2019s chances of winning a 25th Grand Slam title, placing Wimbledon<\/a> at the centre of his analysis of modern grass-court tennis. His breakdown focused on tactical structure, return quality, and the diminishing relevance of traditional serve-dominant narratives.<\/p>\n

Roddick questioned long-standing assumptions about success on grass, particularly the idea that serve alone can define outcomes at the highest level. He repeatedly returned to the importance of return efficiency and early-ball control as primary separators.<\/p>\n

A significant portion of his comments centred on Djokovic\u2019s continued relevance at Wimbledon. Roddick linked the Serbian\u2019s success to structural advantages in movement, return positioning, and neutralisation of pace on low-bounce surfaces.<\/p>\n

His broader argument was that grass courts reward a narrower, more immediate form of tennis than clay or hard courts, where extended construction is more viable.<\/p>\n

Roddick positioned Djokovic as the central reference point for understanding Wimbledon\u2019s tactical reality, particularly due to the Serbian\u2019s efficiency in return games and rally initiation.<\/p>\n

\u201cNovak was at an F1 race this weekend. They were asking him how excited he is for Wimbledon and how he feels about it. And he\u2019s like: \u2018I\u2019m looking forward to it because I don\u2019t have to run as much as you do on clay.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

This, according to Roddick, contributes to the Serbian\u2019s sustained competitiveness at Wimbledon despite generational pressure. \u201cI think it\u2019s interesting\u2014you were just talking about that. You can hit yourself out of trouble more than on any other surface.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"djokovicwimbledon\"\/<\/p>\n

Roddick suggested that grass magnifies Djokovic\u2019s ability to control space early in points. \u201cI don\u2019t know that we\u2019ll find an analyst that doesn\u2019t think Wimbledon is his best shot, especially without Carlos.\u201d<\/p>\n

The American also acknowledged lingering questions around Jannik Sinner, particularly considering his surprising second-round loss at Roland Garros, which for the first time this year made him look more vulnerable.<\/p>\n

However, Roddick did not lose sight of the fact that Sinner remains the main favourite. \u201cThere are question marks about Jannik. I know you\u2019ve been on the \u2018let\u2019s see, 25\u2019 train for a while there. You were willing it in Roland Garros,\u201d the 2003 US Open champion said, although he believes that for Djokovic this could be his best chance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a real shot. I don\u2019t hate that he didn\u2019t make the semis of Roland Garros. This is a\u2014I guarantee you\u2014he knows this is a shot. He\u2019s taken a picture of the landscape of tennis.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously Sinner is still going to be Sinner, but he\u2019s going: \u2018Listen, I could be the best grass court player in this tournament. Now, am I in my prime? Probably not. Am I good enough? I don\u2019t know if I\u2019m in team Novak. I can convince myself of that reality pretty easily.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Roddick directly challenged the conventional framing of grass-court tennis as serve-dominated, rejecting what he called a \u201clazy narrative\u201d about its impact on match outcomes. He argued that modern Wimbledon success cannot be built on serve alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lazy narrative is: big serve, gonna go far on grass,\u201d the former world No. 1 said. \u201cIf you can\u2019t return, point out how many guys that can\u2019t return win Wimbledon. Not since like the 70s. That\u2019s not a real thing anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"carlos<\/p>\n

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon<\/p>\n

He expanded this point by referencing historical contrasts, suggesting that the modern game has structurally reduced the advantage of pure serving profiles. Return quality, in his view, has become non-negotiable at Wimbledon\u2019s elite level.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople don\u2019t come in, you have to\u2026 you look at Lleyton Hewitt. He was a nightmare on grass. Didn\u2019t serve huge, but he got\u2026 did he hold, I don\u2019t know what the numbers are, 10% more because grass was helping him?\u201d<\/p>\n

Roddick framed Hewitt as an example of efficiency over power, where marginal gains in hold percentage and return pressure outweighed raw serve speed. \u201cDepth is more rewarded on grass than any other surface. The movement matters\u2026 A lot of times at Wimbledon, your best play is running through the shot by half a step or a full step, right?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Andy Roddick used his Served podcast to assess Novak Djokovic\u2019s chances of winning a 25th Grand Slam title,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21925,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[843,283,139,285],"class_list":["post-21924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-novak-djokovic","tag-andy-roddick","tag-atp","tag-novak-djokovic","tag-wimbledon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}