Andy Roddick shares blunt take on Novak Djokovic's chances while playing left-handed against a club player

Novak Djokovic received high praise through a blunt take by Andy Roddick. The American believed that the 24-time Grand Slam champion could probably defeat a club player "playing lefty" after watching a short clip of Djokovic warming up on-court.

Djokovic has been competing at the 2024 Shanghai Masters. He defeated Roman Safiullin 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday, 9 October, and booked a quarterfinal spot at the event.

The Tennis Channel took to X to share a short clip of the World No. 4 practicing on-court. In the clip, he made a few shots with his left hand before switching to the right.

Djokovic hit every shot perfectly and seamlessly transitioned to playing a two-handed backhand and a tweener. The caption asked:

"Could a club player beat Novak playing lefty?"

Andy Roddick quickly responded and expressed his admiration for the record 10-time Australian Open champion with a little straight-face humor.

"No. He still moves the way he moves and wouldn’t miss," wrote Roddick on X.

Djokovic will next be seen on-court in a quarterfinal clash with Jakub Mensik at the 2024 Shanghai Masters.

Novak Djokovic to take the court against a young fan in Jakub Mensik at Shanghai Masters

Tennis - Grigor Dimitrov v Novak Djokovic - Source: Getty

A record 4-time Shanghai Masters champion Novak Djokovic is a step closer to breaking his own record with a quarterfinal spot at this year's edition. The Serb is also in quest of his 100th ATP title, a feat that has previously been achieved only by Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer.

Djokovic's quarterfinal opponent, Jakub Mensik shared his excitement at the opportunity to play one of the Big 3s:

"I mean, more than excited, like exciting is really, you know, small word. But, yeah, obviously a dream come true, because of him I started to play tennis or, you know, when I was young and, yeah, starting to play tennis, he was already on the top. You know, so I was like, Wow, he's really good, you know, he made a lot of Grand Slams," Mensik said.

Mensik has had a remarkable run at the Shanghai Masters so far. He defeated Pedra Martinez in the opening round before upsetting sixth seed Andrey Rublev in the second round.

He overcame Alexander Shevchenko in the third round and pulled off another stunner by defeating Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round. All of Mensik's matches en route to the quarterfinals have been three-setters. Djokovic and Mensik will lock horns for a semifinal spot on Friday, 11 October.