Andy Roddick ‘annoyed’ by reaction to Novak Djokovic’s Miami Open withdrawal
Former world No 1 Andy Roddick has revealed why the reaction to Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal from the 2026 Miami Open “annoys” him.
Djokovic pulled out of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Miami citing a shoulder injury on Sunday — three days before the start of the men’s event.
The 38-year-old Serbian has won six Miami Open titles — a men’s record he shares with Andre Agassi — while he was a runner-up at last year’s edition of the event.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion was beaten in three sets by Jack Draper in Indian Wells last week.
Djokovic, who is ranked fourth, has played a limited schedule outside of the four majors in the latter stages of his career. In 2025, Djokovic played just five of the nine Masters 1000 events.
Speaking on his Served podcast, Roddick took issue with those who have reacted negatively to Djokovic’s decision to skip Miami.
“Novak pulls out of Miami. Not much of a surprise,” the 2003 US Open champion began. “Here’s what annoys me in this scenario. He was gone, gone. It would have been a miracle if he played Miami.
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“But when Novak goes, ‘Hey, listen. I’m not chasing the number one ranking, I’m here for majors, I’m proving new success rates with longevity at this age, I will prioritise my family, I want to see my kids grow up’ – everyone goes, ‘Man, that’s great, that’s absolutely what you should do.
“And then a certain sect of people… he pulls out of Miami and [they say]: ‘He’s pulling out of Miami!’
“No, those are the same thing. That’s the exact same conversation. Doing all of the things that he has talked about for the last 18 months is this decision. It’s this exact decision.
“Sitting around and going to Miami and training and doing practice sets and doing the whole thing? No. Your next tournament is in Monte Carlo. Guess who’s going to be in Monte Carlo? I’ll bet you a dollar. His family. Those are the exact same conversations.
“If you understand the macro conversation about something, you can’t be upset about the micro-decisions that lead to that macro view. It’s dumb, it makes no sense.
“He’s gone. He’s not going to to spend two weeks training. He doesn’t need to win Miami. He’s Novak. Who gives a s***?”
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