"Like Diddy jumping into every music video, that's Patrick Mouratoglou & player boxes" - Andy Roddick on Simona Halep's ex-coach's role in doping saga

Andy Roddick and Kim Clijsters have weighed in on Simona Halep's doping ban and the role her former coach Patrick Mouratoglou played in the saga.

Halep was handed a four-year suspension by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for two doping violations. She recently appealed this decision before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and is awaiting the verdict.

The Romanian has maintained her innocence in the case, with Mouratoglou admitting 'he feels responsible' as the Roxadustat in her system supposedly came from a collagen supplement recommended by his team.

Andy Roddick and fellow former World No. 1 Kim Clijsters discussed Halep's doping ban on the latest episode of the 'Served with Andy Roddick' podcast, with Clijsters deeming Patrick Mouratoglou and his team as the biggest "red flags" in the saga.

"To me, the biggest red flag is, you know, the team," she said (at 1:13:20).

Roddick shared the Belgian's perspective, asserting that the Frenchman was "in control" of the situation.

"Yeah, he's he's kind of, and we're talking about Patrick Mouratoglou, where she basically flipped her whole team and he was kind of in control, brought in his people, but it stinks because she's going to end up being potentially the poster child of a conversation," Andy Roddick said (at 1:14:48).

The American also took a dig at Mouratoglou's self-promotional tactics, likening him to Puff Daddy (now known as Diddy) for his tendency to move from coaching one player to another.

"It's like, well, you know, this guy who comes in is great at self promotion. His website, I went on it the other day and it's like 18 different photo shoots. It's like a prepackaged situation. I say it's like Puff Daddy, who used to like, jump into every music video in the 90s. Now, that's like him and player boxes," he added.

Andy Roddick: "It's tough when Simona Halep is going to court on the same day that Patrick Mouratoglou is releasing top 5 lists on Twitter for servers"

Andy Roddick

Andy Roddick and Kim Clijsters continued to discuss Simona Halep's doping suspension during the podcast. Clijsters outlined her concerns about Patrick Mouratoglou "manipulating" the Romanian.

"But in a situation like this, and for women especially, when you have coaches that take over your team, where they, I mean, I call it manipulating, I don't find another word for it. Taking control of everything that happens around an athlete. I do have a hard time with the fact that you know, in this case it's Patrick," she said (at 1:13:50).

Furthermore, the Belgian questioned the unequal distribution of consequences, with Halep alone facing the repercussions despite the Frenchman admitting to a level of responsibility.

"I have a really hard time that you know that there is no consequence for the team, like it's just the athlete," she added.

Roddick echoed Clijsters' sentiments, asserting that if he was in Mouratoglou's position, he would have taken responsibility immediately. The American also highlighted the irony of Halep making her appeal before CAS on the same day that the Frenchman was casually ranking the top five servers on social media.

"I kind of feel the same way. I'm not sure what the punishment is and I understand the way that the rules are written," Andy Roddick said (at 1:15:28). "If I would have done that if I would have been a part of giving someone something and them trusting me with it, I would have been out there trying to take as many bullets as possible for for that person."

"Yeah, but it is a weird, weird thing and I don't know how to digest the male female of it all. But it just seems like it's a tough situation when she's going to court on the same day that he's releasing top 5 lists on Twitter for servers," he added.