“I think in our generation it was like players wanted to watch Roger Federer because he could do things skill-wise with the racket. And Rafael Nadal was like this blunt trauma of physicality and rotation. Novak Djokovic is like a fighter who puts you in holds you can’t get out of. Whereas Roger had this grace and came out with shots that looked like he was playing video games.”
Speaking in his Served with Andy Roddick podcast, the former US champion analyzed the skills that characterized and, in a certain sense, labeled the Big 3 during their career. Roddick linked the skills of the Big 3 with Carlos Alcaraz, explaining how the best version of the young Spaniard will have something inherent to Djokovic’s tennis in his game
“When I was with Andre Agassi in Las Vegas, pretty much what he was saying is that he’s so spectacular that the next point of success is maybe getting a little more boring on the court and kind of convincing people and blocking them and not throwing lots of uppercuts.
Alcaraz is almost like a combination of the Big 3. He’s still finding his way. I think the best version of himself will be when he inserts a little more Novak into his game than he does, making things a little more boring and not always spectacular,” he added.
Roddick expressed on Novak’s coach issue
Also in his podcast, Roddick analyzed the situation of Djokovic, still without a coach today, after the breakdown of his partnership with Goran Ivanisevic.
“My mind automatically goes to Marian Vajda because that’s the guy who’s in and then he’s out and then sometimes he comes back in, it seems like a consistent insurance policy. And he, more than anyone else, helped develop Novak and turn him into the person and not just chasing more successes.
I think my cat could train it and do a great job, probably win a lot of games! If I were Novak and won that many Slams, I would want something that was consistent where I didn’t feel like I was getting to know someone.
The fact is that he is 36 years old. It’s a strange moment where he thinks he’s there with these three other superhumans. I think you would want someone, I don’t think you would do a trial run without a coach before the Roland Garros and Wimbledon
You know another name who Novak, to his credit, really supported in difficult times, and who didn’t work in his last coaching job, is Boris Becker. They’ve been very successful and so if I’m Novak and I have a partner to hit and I have all this infrastructure, maybe I don’t need someone there all the time,” said Roddick.
