Roddick: 'Arrogant isn't one of my first words I would use to describe Roger Federer'

• Tennis News
• Roger Federer

The recent statements of Novak Djokovic's mother, Dijana, who accused Roger Federer of being a little arrogant while recalling the 2019 Wimbledon final in an interview with Sport Blick, made a great sensation. Former World number 1 Andy Roddick, who retired from tennis in 2012 and an excellent friend of the Swiss champion, wanted to defend the 20-time Grand Slam champion from criticism.

She said: "I saw a lot of matches, but Wimbledon was the most difficult last year. In a stadium where everyone was cheering on Roger Federer, we were just a handful of fans for Novak. It's not nice that I'm annoyed by Federer or others at such moments.

But it annoyed me because Federer is a bit arrogant." "For me, there is one reaction to this - it is unnecessary," Roddick said. "Don't know that we need to throw those [words] around from the sidelines. Two, it probably wouldn't be one of my first 6000 words that I would use to describe Roger.

I think there have been some stories coming out of that camp that are maybe concerning, at best. But [Dijana's comments] is only the second or third most alarming thing said out of that camp in the last couple of weeks. If you disagree with somebody's stance on a personal level, you can still think they are really friendly and still enjoy seeing them.

That shouldn't dictate your opinion on what they have accomplished on the court. What I think of his stances on big world issues that are going on right now and what he is accomplished in the sport are two completely separate things for me.

Novak has been unbelievable and he has a real chance at being the best of all time regardless of if I happen to disagree with him on any certain issue" - he added.