Billionaire Ion Tiriac reminisces his encounter with baby Novak Djokovic as he hails “young man, old player” for his Olympic gold medal
Ion Tiriac recalled how budget constraints affected a young Novak Djokovic, whom he called a "young man, old player" after his Olympic gold.
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Ion Tiriac, Novak Djokovic (via The Sun, Imago)
Former tennis player and billionaire Ion Tiriac has hailed Serbian tennis legend Novak Djokovic, who recently clinched the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Tiriac called Djokovic ‘a young man but an old player.’ The former tennis player turned businessman also reminisced about the days when Djokovic was a kid and had a budget crunch.
Tiriac remembered his interactions with Djokovic and how he would only do “800 kilometers in a day because it was too expensive in Belgrade”. The former tennis player hailed his compatriot as a good man.
The "baby" Djokovic was training in Romania at the very beginning, he only did 80 kilometers every day because it was too expensive in Belgrade, he came with his parents...I know him well. He is a very decent person. Besides, I called him after his victory in Paris for the Olympic Games, and I told him: "Young Man, old player". I also took the opportunity to make a bet with him but I can't tell you that, unfortunately.Ion Tiriac said (via We Love Tennnis)
The 37-year-old Serbian ace scripted history on August 4 when he defeated Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets to win his maiden Olympic gold medal. He became only the fifth player in tennis history to complete a career Golden Slam — winning all four Majors and the singles Olympic gold.
Celebrations continue for Novak Djokovic, gets greeted by 100s of fans in Serbia
Although it has been more than a week since Novak Djokovic bagged the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the celebrations are still underway. After enjoying his time in Paris, he returned to a hero’s welcome in Serbia.
Djokovic, along with other Serbian Olympians, was seen at Belgrade’s The Old Palace, with 1000s of Serbians cheering for their stars. Serbian basketball star Nikola Jokic was spotted alongside Djokovic celebrating his team’s basketball bronze medal.
With Djokovic’s name was announced, the tennis legend made his way out amidst loud cheers. A video of the moment was shared by the 37-year-old on social media. In the video, he can be seen enthusiastically showing his gold medal to the fans.
A golden homecoming.Novak Djokovic wrote in the caption of his social media post
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Ritesh Pathak
(2150 Articles Published)