4<\/p>\n Djokovic is a four-time US Open winnerCredit: Getty<\/p>\n Djokovic withdrew from both the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open but will return to the court in pursuit of his 25th Grand Slam.<\/p>\n The Serbian will find himself up against it in New York due to the form of Jannik Sinner<\/a> and Carlos Alcaraz<\/a>.<\/p>\n Yet ironically, that is a position Djokovic found himself in a different sense in mere months after winning his first-ever Slam.<\/p>\n The former world number one faced Andy Roddick, who won the US Open<\/a> in 2003, in the quarter-finals of the 2008 tournament.<\/p>\n Things between the two were already tense in the build-up, with fans eagerly anticipating fireworks once they stepped onto the court.<\/p>\n Roddick accused Djokovic of faking an injury<\/a> and joked his opponent might have \u2018a back and a hip (injury)? And a cramp, bird flu or SARS?\u2019<\/p>\n Djokovic won 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) against the home favourite and called out the American in his post-match interview, which drew boos from the crowd.<\/p>\n “I am really happy playing against Roddick on his court and in his city in his favourite tournament, so to win against him is a huge effort,\u201d Djokovic said.<\/p>\n “That’s not nice, anyhow, to say in front of this crowd that I have 16 injuries and I am faking it.<\/p>\n “I have nothing against anybody. Andy was saying that I have 16 injuries in the last match, so obviously I don’t, right? Like it or not, it’s like that.<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Djokovic was accused of faking injuries by RoddickCredit: Getty<\/p>\n “They (the crowd) are already against me because they think I am faking everything, so sorry.”<\/p>\n Roddick later revealed the situation escalated behind the scenes, and he ended up pinning Djokovic up against a locker.<\/p>\n However, the 42-year-old admitted the size of his rival’s trainer meant he soon backed off.<\/p>\n “I got in an in-the-locker-room, after-a-match confrontation with this tennis player one time,” Roddick told Fox Sports Live in 2013.<\/p>\n “I won’t say his name, I’ll just say it rhymes with ‘Schmovak Schmokovic’… and we got into IT at the US Open one time.<\/p>\n “I was kind of talking trash, and he came out and beat the pants off of me as he would.<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Djokovic beat Roddick in four sets to reach the semi-finals back in 2008Credit: Getty<\/p>\n “But (he) then kind of chirped afterward, and he came straight in, I went right up to him and had him up against the locker.<\/p>\n “But then I realised his trainer was about a little bit bigger than Donovan (McNabb, a former NFL<\/a> quarterback, who appeared on the Fox show with Roddick) here, and I kind of checked myself.<\/p>\n “My trainer is about 5-foot-8, 130 (pounds), and can dodge raindrops. I kind of backed off real quick. <\/p>\n “I was about to get railroaded from the side.\u201d<\/p>\n Djokovic went on to lose in the last-four to eventual winner Roger Federer<\/a>, who beat Andy Murray in the final.<\/p>\n![\"Djokovic](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/crop-2028716.jpg\")
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