"I didn’t see it as a possibility, bet against the greats at your peril": Andy Roddick in awe of Novak Djokovic reaching Wimbledon final after surgery

Andy Roddick recently expressed his admiration for Novak Djokovic reaching the finals week of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships despite undergoing knee surgery right before the start of the tournament. The World No.2 will be aiming to win his first title of the season, which would also be his eighth Wimbledon title and his 25th Grand Slam title overall.

Seeded second in the tournament, Djokovic defeated qualifier Vit Kopriva in the first round and wildcard Jacob Fearnley in the second. He then overcame Alexei Popyrin and 15th seed Holger Rune in the third and fourth rounds, respectively. The Serb was scheduled to face ninth seed Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals, but advanced to the semifinals after the Australian withdrew due to a hip injury.

Most recently, Novak Djokovic defeated 25th seed Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-4 in two hours and 48 minutes at the Centre Court to reach the final at SW19. This will be the former World No.1's 37th Major final, and he will face defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a rematch from last year's final.

Reacting to Novak Djokovic's win, Andy Roddick took to social media to commend the Serb for reaching the final of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. He stated that he was in awe of Djokovic's resilience in how he was able to compete at the grasscourt Major shortly after undergoing knee surgery in early June this year.

Roddick admitted that while he had not anticipated the 24-time Grand Slam champion's deep run in the tournament, he was not surprised by it.

Andy Roddick also addressed those who had written off Novak Djokovic before the start of the tournament because of the knee surgery, stating that is always inequitable in 'betting' against the the all-time greats.

"Novak is in the Wimbledon final weeks after having a knee operation. I have a guy on my fantasy baseball team who fouled a ball off his leg 6 weeks ago and progressed to playing a game of catch yesterday ……. Great is great. I didn’t see it as a possibility. Bet against the all time greats at your own peril. Props," Roddick posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Novak Djokovic on competing at Wimbledon 2024 after undergoing knee surgery: "There was plenty of doubt, didn't know whether I would play or not"

Novak Djokovic

Speaking after his win over Lorenzo Musetti in the semifinals of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, Novak Djokovic said that there was severe doubt regarding his participation at the grasscourt Major this year due to his knee surgery.

"There was plenty of doubt. Coming to London about eight days before the tournament started I didn't know whether I would play the tournament or not. I was keeping everything open until the day of the draw," he said.

The Serb said that having some practice sessions with some top players and playing the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic exhibition match before the Wimbledon Championships had helped him immensely in preparing for the Grand Slam.

"I played a couple of practise sets with top players and an exhibition match which proved to me I was in a good enough state to be not just part of Wimbledon but to go deep," he added.

The former World No.1 also expressed his gratitude to his team for their support and playing a crucial role in his recovery and success he had in the tournament till now.

"I said before the tournament that if I didn't think I had a chance of going deep in the tournament I probably wouldn't be playing. The mentality is there, it is ever present and I am just very pleased and thankful to all the team members for helping me," he said.

The final match between Novak Djokovic ad Carlos Alcaraz will be their sixth meeting on the ATP Tour, with the Serb holding a slight edge over the World No.3, having won three out of their five encounters.