Pete Sampras, Andy Roddick, John Isner and Roger Federer. These are some of the first names that come to our minds while discussing the best servers in tennis. A case could be made for many more players though, and recently Mark Petchey, a former tennis player, has thrown in an unexpected name.

The Briton made a case for Novak Djokovic which raised many eyebrows in the tennis fraternity. The 23-time major champion was never really considered to be among the best servers in tennis. However, there has been a drastic improvement in his serve ever since Goran Ivanisevic joined his team. But, has the improvement been enough to make a case for him? A certain American disagrees.

Andy Roddick diminishes Novak Djokovic’s serving credentials

During the Serb’s round 3 match at Wimbledon, Petchey tweeted, “Starting to think that inch for inch @DjokerNole is the best 1st server the sport has ever seen.” Many viewers weren’t pleased by the statement. Novak Djokovic is statistically the greatest player of all time but he is far from being the best server, statistically. Andy Roddick objected to the Petchey statement and tweeted, “Pete Sampras would like a minute of your time ??. Nole is amazing but this is a reach. Also, I?m shorter than Nole.”

If we go by serving stats that include metrics such as first serve win%, ace rate and serving points won, Djokovic is quite significantly behind the likes of Sampras and Roddick. The American also has a history with Djokovic.

When things heated up between Andy Roddick and Novak Djokovic

It was back in 2008, during the US Open. Andy Roddick was set to take on Djokovic in the Quarter-final. Prior to the match, the American took a dig at Djokovic and indicated that he would use his injuries to distract his opponent. He mocked Djokovic and said that the Serb was dealing with ‘back and hip injury, cramps, bird flu, common cold, and SARS as well.‘

Djokovic ended up winning the quarter-final in four sets. In his post-match interview, he fired back at Roddick for his inconsiderate comments. “Andy was saying that I have 16 injuries in the last match, so obviously I don’t, right?” Djokovic said.

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Do you think that Roddick’s disapproval of Djokovic’s serving credentials comes from personal dislike or is he being objective? Let us know in the comments.

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