Andy Roddick has admitted he 'felt icky' after seeing Australian Open fans turn on Novak Djokovic at the recent tournament in Melbourne.
Djokovic decided to withdraw from his semi-final clash against Alexander Zverev on Friday, having played through the pain against Carlos Alcaraz days previously.
Upon pulling out, fans in attendance at the Rod Laver Arena decided to boo Djokovic.
Several figures associated with the sport, including John McEnroe, have condemned that behaviour.
Tennis news: Novak Djokovic was booed by fans after withdrawing from his Australian Open semi-final clash with Alexander Zverev
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And Roddick, speaking in his podcast, has admitted the incident left him 'feeling icky' as he mounted a staunch defence of Djokovic.
He said: “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.
"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.
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"I get all that but at a certain point if you’re a tennis fan respect has to win out.
"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 took to social media days after the tournament to share a picture of an MRI scan.
He accompanied it with a pointed caption that read: "Thought I'd leave this here for all the sports injury 'experts' out there."
Djokovic had gone into the Australian Open hoping to win a record 25th major that would have moved him ahead of Margaret Court.
But he ultimately came up short and, now, it'll be intriguing to see what the future holds.
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Tennis news: Andy Roddick has admitted he 'felt icky' after seeing Australian Open fans turn on Novak Djokovic at the recent tournament in Melbourne
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Djokovic has since opted to pull out of Serbia's Davis Cup clash with Denmark.
Discussing his absence, Serbia captain Viktor Troicki admitted that they would be 'weakened' without the former world No 1 in their ranks.
But he also insists he's confident his team can cope.
"We are weakened by not playing Novak, but we are still going for the win," he said.
Tennis news: Novak Djokovic was frustrated after being forced to withdraw from his match with Alexander Zverev
REUTERS
"The Danes have a great player in Holger Rune, but our players are also great and I believe in my team."
The content between Serbia and Denmark, which is a first-round qualifying tie, will commence on Friday.
