"I cannot win a game off of Novak Djokovic right now" - Andy Roddick

Former American tennis player Andy Roddick recently commented on amateurs players believing that they could win games against Novak Djokovic and similar professionals.

According to a US Tennis survey by Research Without Barriers, 71% of people asked believed that they could win a game against a tennis pro, with 82% of them being between ages 18-24. Even more interestingly, 47% of amateurs above age 55 believe they could win a game against a pro.

US Open 2003 champion Andy Roddick, who also played in four Australian Open semifinals and three Wimbledon finals, couldn't believe what he was hearing when asked about it live on the Tennis Channel.

"I played Ohio University Intramural champion back in '05 or '06 because the guy was writing a book about what would be needed to compete with a pro, and I beat him with a frying pan! And it's not like I'm the most talented guy," Roddick said.

The former American professional called the results of the survey 'insanity of the highest level.'

"If you play in your club and didn't play Divison 1 tennis, you can't win a game off Novak Djokovic, stop it! I'm sitting here as a 40-year-old, I won 32 times on tour, and I cannot win a game off of Novak Djokovic right now, and you can't either!" Roddick added.

The former World No. 1 was also asked a follow-up question about his frying pan match, and he responded that he did drop a few games.

"Yeah, a real success story for that guy, he won four games while I was playing with a frying pan," Roddick said ironically.

(The aforementioned survey was conducted in June 2023, using samples collected from 2,403 tennis player across the United States, and was published on the Action Network.)

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Novak Djokovic can return to the World No. 1 spot with a good run at the Cincinnati Masters

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon 2023

Novak Djokovic will continue his season at the 2023 Cincinnati Masters, which will be his first tournament since losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the final at Wimbledon.

Djokovic arrived in Cincinnati a couple of days before the tournament began. He has a bye in the first round, with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Tomas Martin Etcheverry being his possible second-round opponents.

Alcaraz currently leads Djokovic by 600 points in the rankings, but he will drop last year's Cincinnati quarterfinal points (180) on Monday, so the Spaniard's lead will only be 420 points.

Thus, if Djokovic wins the title and Alcaraz doesn't reach the final, the ATP tour will have a new No. 1 before the US Open. But the Serb won't be able to take back the No. 1 spot even if he wins the tournament if Alcaraz ends up in the final as well.

The good news for Alcaraz and his fans is that if Djokovic doesn't reach the final, taking the throne back will be much more difficult for the Serb. The most interesting part is that if Djokovic loses in the final and Alcaraz loses in the quarterfinals, both players will have the same amount of points.