“Made me feel icky” - Andy Roddick makes his feelings known on Novak Djokovic being booed by Australian Open fans after retirement

Andy Roddick has shared his disapproval of Novak Djokovic being booed by Australian Open fans after retiring from his semifinal match. The Serb had faced Alexander Zverev in the final four but had to withdraw after losing the first set 7-6(5) due to a muscle tear in his upper left leg.

While Djokovic walked off the Rod Laver Arena, the spectators present there booed him off the court which did not sit well with many. During an episode of his "Served with Andy Roddick" podcast, Roddick shared his thoughts on the incident:

“I didn't like it. Listen, you can disagree with someone, it’s just booing someone when they’re going off, even if you don’t know if they’re really hurt, you don’t boo. If you suspect they’re not hurt, there's a chance that they’re telling the truth, you don’t boo.” [48:04]

“I just hated the fact that he’s leaving the court to boos and I understand he likes the friction, he invites the friction in, he thrives off of in it and at times has created controversy because he operates well in that space. I get all that but at a certain point if you’re a tennis fan respect has to win out.”

Roddick said that witnessing the fans heckling Djokovic made him feel "icky":

“I’m not telling you to cheer for someone that you don’t want to cheer for, I’m saying there’s a million miles between not being a an out-and-out fan of someone and also booing someone who’s one of the all time greats. You don’t know if you’re going to see them again. I didn’t like that, it made me feel icky on the inside. I didn’t like that.”

Djokovic's semifinal opponent Zverev asked the crowd to be "respectful" in his post-match interview.

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“With Novak Djokovic, people like to go against him 'cause they're going to get a reaction” - Kim Clijsters

Novak Djokovic shouts in celebration [Image Source: Getty Images]

In the above podcast, four-time Grand Slam champion, Kim Clijsters shared her thoughts on Novak Djokovic being heckled off the court at the 2025 Australian Open. She also addressed the situation involving Naomi Osaka, who was booed by some spectators at the 2025 ASB Classic after she withdrew from the final match against Clara Tauson:

“I didn’t like it. I don’t like it. Doesn’t matter where it happens, I don’t like it. These are players and I even think [Naomi] Osaka when she was in the final of the lead-up tournament, she pulled out after the first set. I think a lot of times people are more like, ‘I paid this money and I want to watch it.’ I think that also kind of creeps in there.” [49:20]

“With Novak, I do think people like to go against it 'cause they know they're going to get a reaction. I don't like it. He’s also posting his MRI results, it’s because he wants to shut everybody up and see like, ‘Listen, I’m not faking anything.’”

Last year, Djokovic reached the semifinals at the Australian Open before losing to eventual champion, Jannik Sinner. He last won the Grand Slam title in 2023 when he triumphed over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.