Novak Djokovic was pinned against a locker by American rival after beating ‘the pants off’ him at US Open

Novak Djokovic has been involved in some brilliant US Open battles over the years, but only one has spilled over into the locker room.

The 38-year-old will be on a revenge tour at Flushing Meadows, having not played since his Wimbledon semi-final loss last month.

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Djokovic withdrew from both the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open but will return to the court in pursuit of his 25th Grand Slam.

The Serbian will find himself up against it in New York due to the form of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

Yet ironically, that is a position Djokovic found himself in a different sense in mere months after winning his first-ever Slam.

The former world number one faced Andy Roddick, who won the US Open in 2003, in the quarter-finals of the 2008 tournament.

Things between the two were already tense in the build-up, with fans eagerly anticipating fireworks once they stepped onto the court.

Roddick accused Djokovic of faking an injury and joked his opponent might have ‘a back and a hip (injury)? And a cramp, bird flu or SARS?’

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.

“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,” Djokovic said.

“That’s not nice, anyhow, to say in front of this crowd that I have 16 injuries and I am faking it.

“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.

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“They (the crowd) are already against me because they think I am faking everything, so sorry.”

Roddick later revealed the situation escalated behind the scenes, and he ended up pinning Djokovic up against a locker.

However, the 42-year-old admitted the size of his rival’s trainer meant he soon backed off.

“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.

“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.

“I was kind of talking trash, and he came out and beat the pants off of me as he would.

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“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.

“But then I realised his trainer was about a little bit bigger than Donovan (McNabb, a former NFL quarterback, who appeared on the Fox show with Roddick) here, and I kind of checked myself.

“My trainer is about 5-foot-8, 130 (pounds), and can dodge raindrops. I kind of backed off real quick.

“I was about to get railroaded from the side.”

Djokovic went on to lose in the last-four to eventual winner Roger Federer, who beat Andy Murray in the final.

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When does the 2025 US Open start?

The 2025 edition of the US Open will start on Sunday, August 24.

It will conclude with the Men’s Singles Final on Sunday, September 7, with the Women’s Singles Final held the day before.

The entire thing will be held at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.

Matches during the first and second rounds will get underway at 11am local time, which is 4pm in the UK.