Andy Roddick admitted he didn’t think that Novak Djokovic would be ready for the Indian Wells Masters but also added that the tournament’s organizers must be happy since they also probably didn’t initially expect the former world No. 1 to be able to compete in the desert.
In the first set of his quarterfinal match against Carlos Alcaraz, the 37-year-old took an off-court medical timeout for a left leg injury before he went on to recover from a set down and beat the Spaniard in four sets.
However, some weren’t convinced that Djokovic was really injured, accusing him of trying to throw Alcaraz off his game.
But after the Serb retired injured in the semifinal against Alexander Zverev, he decided to post his MRI scans that showed the extent of his hamstring tear.
Roddick was curious and he sent it to an expert with the hopes of learning for how long the record 24-time Grand Slam winner would be out.
Roddick: I didn’t expect Djokovic until the Monte Carlo Masters in April
“I didn’t think we were going to see Novak, you put out an image of a tear and it’s not like I know exactly what it is, I just look and know that it’s not great,” the former world No. 1 said on the Served with Andy Roddick.
“So I sent it to an orthopaedic friend of mine, they say normally it would be six weeks, so in my mind I’m like oh we’re not going to be seeing Novak until maybe Monte Carlo.”
However, Djokovic returned way earlier than the American predicted – he competed in Doha in mid-February and is now ready to play in Indian Wells.
“But I’m sure at the end of Australia, Indian Wells thought they had no chance of Novak posting for this,” the 2010 Indian Wells finalist added.
The Serb has a first-round bye in the desert before possibly meeting Nick Kyrgios in the second round.
Tennis World USA