ESPN 2008 US Open

NEW YORK -- Beating his chest like King Kong after topping Andy Roddick at the U.S. Open on Thursday night, Novak Djokovic didn't win many friends. Their ranks were likely to have thinned further when the Serb criticized Roddick, who earlier questioned the viability of his numerous ailments, in a courtside TV interview, before later apologizing.

Djokovic shouldn't expect the crowd to be on his side when he meets popular four-time defending champion Roger Federer in Saturday's semifinals, even if he falls behind by two sets.

Djokovic isn't alone in his courtside antics. Here are a few others who've played the role of bad guy in recent times.

Fernando Gonzalez
A soft-spoken guy off the court, the talented Chilean is as explosive as they come on it.

Case in point: June's Artois Championships in London, the main precursor to Wimbledon. Facing Ivo Karlovic, who can frustrate with his plethora of aces and unreturnable serves, Gonzalez was thrown out of a third-round match. He was warned for ball abuse by umpire Fergus Murphy, received a point penalty for cracking his racket, and took his frustration out on another ball upon being broken at 5-5 in the second set. The last brought a game penalty and thus victory for Karlovic, since the giant Croat took the first set.

Gonzalez was accused by James Blake of cheating at the Olympics, too, a charge he denied. The New York native felt Gonzalez knowingly touched his backhand pass before it sailed long deep in the third set of their semifinal. Umpire Carlos Bernardes didn't see it that way; the out call stood and Gonzalez prevailed not long after, 11-9.

Blake, by the way, stood by his comments last week.

Tomas Berdych
The lanky, underachieving Czech suffered a brain cramp at the Madrid Masters two years ago.

Up against Rafael Nadal, Berdych was upset because the Madrilenos were rooting a little loudly for their darling. (What else did he expect?)

Not content with upsetting Nadal 6-3, 7-6 (6) in the quarterfinals, Berdych put a finger to his lips and taunted the crowd when it ended. Nadal was none too impressed.

"When I played him in the Czech Republic, the crowd was the same and I didn't say anything," Nadal said at the time. "If you play against a local player, that's normal."

In his next match, Berdych was booed, and cheers emanated when the unforced errors flew off his racket. He lost in straight sets to, you guessed it, Gonzalez.

Nadal and Berdych have since kissed and made up.

Robin Soderling
The mischievous-looking Swede, who seems bigger than his 6-foot-3 frame, rankled Nadal, yes, him again, at Wimbledon last year.

Mocking Nadal by tugging at his shorts (his own, that is) while waiting for his opponent to serve, Soderling also pumped his fist when a lucky net cord went his way. The usual custom of apologizing, then, was nowhere to be found.

The handshake at the net following a five-set marathon that went five days due to rain was more like a tap.

"My opponent's behavior was maybe the worst possible," Nadal snapped. "In the locker room he is not the best guy for the other players."

Soderling, a slugging baseliner still waiting to fulfill his potential, was utterly unrepentant.

"He must have been in his complaining mood today," he said. "If your opponent gets a lucky shot and he doesn't say, 'Sorry,' I don't care. Why should I say, 'I'm sorry' when I'm like in the happiest moment of my life? It's just bulls---."

At last report, the two have yet to mend their differences.

Marat Safin
Still the most combustible figure on the men's tour, Safin once broke about 50 rackets in a single season. Three years ago, the handsome Russian estimated 300 had gone by the wayside in similar fashion in his career. Four hundred can't be far off.

The racket slamming returned in a second-round loss to Spaniard Tommy Robredo last week in New York, though his opener against Vince Spadea had more drama.

Safin was angered when he was called for a foot fault on a second serve as he tried to stay in the fourth set; his back foot apparently crossed the center line.

His pleas with chair umpire Bernardes falling on deaf ears -- Safin used a few bad words -- he eventually clashed with tournament referee Brian Earley.

"It's stupid rules that somebody made in, I don't know, 1850, and now they give me problems with these things," Safin said.

Xavier Malisse
Malisse, an ultratalented Belgian who spends much of his time in Florida, was given a four-week suspension by the ATP in 2005 for "aggravated behavior," which in this case meant throwing a ball at a line judge and verbally abusing her at what's now the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. Umpire Cedric Mourier felt he had no choice but to default Malisse, who also kicked over a chair and smashed his racket.

Malisse led Spaniard David Ferrer 6-3, 5-5 when he was tossed.

At Wimbledon four years earlier, Malisse was given a point penalty for an audible obscenity in a second round, five-set loss to none other than Federer. Federer, of course, used to have a temper himself.

Ravi Ubha is a frequent contributor to ESPN.com.