Maria Sharapova discloses how Novak Djokovic took her out for dinner after winning a bet against her
Maria Sharapova made the revelations on the Rennae Stubbs podcast.
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Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova (Image via The US Sun)
Former Russian tennis ace Maria Sharapova and Serbian tennis legend Novak Djokovic share a healthy relationship that goes a long way back. The two have been good friends for a long time now and Djokovic often impersonates Sharapova. Meanwhile, the Russian revealed an interesting story when she had to go out for dinner after losing a bet to the Serbian.
Talking on the Rennae Stubbs podcast, Sharapova revealed the story that dates back to the early days of Djokovic’s career when he had won just one Grand Slam. The Russian, who retired in 2020 revealed that the two were playing an exhibition match at Indian Wells and Djokovic had bet that he would beat her and then they would have to go out for dinner.
Sharapova said that she did not pay heed to what Djokovic said at the start of the match thinking that she would not lose. But the Serbian managed to beat the Russian and as per the bet, the two went out and also clicked a picture together. “Oh god… I have this funny story with Novak. I remember we had won our first Grand Slams; it was at the time he was getting there, getting to the top & his body was not at the level of his tennis,” she said.
“We played this mini-exhibition at Indian Wells. I don’t remember what the bet was, but he said if he won the bet, we’re gonna go to dinner. I was like, ‘Okay, fine, whatever, like it’s going to happen.’ Then he ended up winning & was like, ‘Yeah, we’re going to dinner…’ and it was so funny. He was like ‘Can we take a photo?’”
Did Maria Sharapova and Novak Djokovic ever date?
Seeing the chemistry between the two, there were rumors that Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova dated each other. Sharapova’s presence in Djokovic’s box during his 2007 US Open Final against Roger Federer added fuel to the fire. However, Djokovic was quick to clear the air as he revealed that there is nothing more than a good friendship between the two.
“No, let’s not go too much with Maria. It’s just a friendship we have. It was nice for her to come and support me,” Djokovic had said back then. It is worth mentioning that during that time, Djokovic was in a relationship with Jelena Ristic who he married in 2014. However, it was still an early phase of their relationship, and hence the rumors of Djokovic cheating on Jelena with Sharapova were rife.
But with no concrete evidence, these rumors were slipped under the rug and the friendship between the two superstars of tennis continued. The two players still share a great bond. While Djokovic always keeps Sharapova in his series of impersonations, the Russian hailed the 36-year-old for his fitness on the same podcast where she made the interesting revelation.
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Ritesh Pathak
(2150 Articles Published)