"There was zero reason this needed to be announced": Andy Roddick calls out Novak Djokovic for ruining Rafael Nadal's retirement

Andy Roddick has hit out at Novak Djokovic for not waiting and allowing Rafael Nadal to dominate the headlines at least for a little bit before he announced his link-up with Andy Murray.

The narrative suddenly flipped as Djokoic announced that he would have Murray as his new coach days after Rafael Nadal retired from the sport. A farewell that Djokovic wasn't a part of aside from on video link.

Albeit not for the want of trying with both Djokovic and Murray messing up in terms of deciding to arrive at the weekend thinking Spain would be through but Netherlands who lost to eventual champions Italy had other ideas.

Roddick spoke on Served this past week and said there was literally no reason why they needed to announce it and spoil his retirement party.

“I get memes are fun, but there is no part of this that’s a joke. I don’t think it’s a vanity project,” Roddick said on his Served podcast. “Hey, listen, is the attention fun? Is the buzz fun? Is it fun to know that you can create a s**tstorm in the tennis world and override any storyline?

“Oh, oh, oh! Rafa retired this weekend? Should we dominate the headlines at the end of that week?’ There was zero reason why this needed to be announced. Zero.”

Djokovic said the following during his video link. “Rafa. First of all, congratulations on your amazing career. Your family, your team, yourself should be extremely proud of everything that you have achieved throughout your career that lasted more than 20 years.

“In the tennis locker room we will miss your warm-ups, your sprints, your jumps, your incredibly competitive parchis - the games that you had with your team before your matches.

“We had a lot of fun times sharing the locker room. I just hope that today, even though it is a sad day for tennis, it is a sad day for Spain and sport in general that you are retiring.

“But at the same time, I hope that everyone will celebrate your career because there is so much to embrace, so much to celebrate.”