Andy Roddick believes Novak Djokovic is playing better than he has ‘for a while’ and has a ‘real chance’ of winning Wimbledon as he ‘looks sharper’ than Jannik Sinner.
Djokovic, 39, is bidding to win a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam and join his great rival Roger Federer on eight Wimbledon titles.
The Serbian legend has failed to add to his Grand Slam tally since 2023, finding it difficult to compete with the two best players in the world, Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
Sinner and Alcaraz have shared most of the major titles in recent years, with the former winning four since the start of 2024 and the latter picking up seven since his first in September 2022.
Djokovic only has one of those rivals to contend with at Wimbledon, however, as Alcaraz was forced to withdraw due to the wrist injury that also kept him out of the French Open.
The seven-time champion dropped a set in his first-round match against China’s Wu Yibing but produced a ‘vintage’ performance to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round.
Roddick was in one of the Centre Court commentary boxes for Djokovic’s second-round victory and said he was ‘blown away’ by the veteran’s level.
The three-time Wimbledon finalist even said Djokovic currently ‘looks sharper’ than world number Sinner, who followed up a nervy five-set win over Miomir Kecmanovic with a straight-set victory over Nuno Borges.
Sinner, 24, was a heavy favourite to win the recent French Open following Alcaraz’s withdrawal but lost in the second round after struggling with the heat and cramp.
‘I was in the commentary bunker on court for Novak Djokovic’s game and seeing him up close was really interesting,’ Roddick said on the Served podcast.
‘He served unbelievable and the ball-striking was unbelievable. He is in this tournament with a real chance. Today was important on a number of levels.
‘One, you win a match in the drive for 25, but you do it quickly as well. There was no part of his game that didn’t look locked in today.
‘I know it’s a good matchup for Novak, there’s not a lot Tsitsipas can do against him, it’s a runaway train of a matchup with Novak now winning 12 in a row against him.
‘But it was a vintage performance. He was cooking second serve returns, he was moving the ball around the court and injecting as much pace on the ball as I’ve seen in a while.
‘I was blown away with the quality of his ball-striking today. Novak was phenomenal from start to finish – he is in this thing.
‘His movement at this age, when he’s not the fastest he’s ever been, translates better on grass than any other surface.
‘I’m just telling you now, that was a message sent because he is cleaning the ball and he did himself a massive favour with the time on court.
‘I also called Jannik Sinner and that forehand is struggling a bit, he’s searching for something a little bit. His serve bailed him out a little bit and Borges got tight at points.
‘But Jannik is still searching for something – Novak looked way sharper than Sinner today.
‘We’re nit-picking with Sinner because it’s only round two and if he goes and plays great in the semis then this conversation is going to be like a fart in the wind.
‘It’s surprising he’s missed as much as he has in the first two rounds but it would surprise no one if he turned it around in one match. It’s something to keep an eye on going forward.’
Djokovic returns to Wimbledon action with a third-round match against the big-serving Arthur Rinderknech, while Sinner faces America’s Jenson Brooksby.
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