“I was really pissed off,” Novak Djokovic reveals being frustrated competing against Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer initially
Novak Djokovic relishes his time competing against Nadal and Federer but pissed of initially.
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The former world No.1, Novak Djokovic opens up for the first time since he was denied playing at the Miami Open. In his first interview after withdrawing from the Miami Open, Djokovic expressed that he does not regret relinquishing the world No. 1 ranking to Carlos Alcaraz and missing the Indian Wells. He talked about being a part of ‘the Era’ and competing with the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Due to his choice of not getting vaccinated against Covid-19, Djokovic is currently prohibited from traveling to the US. Hence, he had to withdraw from Indian Wells and is also absent from the Miami Open this week. On Monday, the 35-year-old gave up the top spot in the men’s singles ranking, which he has held for more weeks than any other player, to Alcaraz.
Speaking to CNN, Djokovic said, “They made me stronger, both mentally, physically, my game was improved because of all these matches that we played against each other, mostly because of the matches that I lost to them, some big matches. At times I was really pissed off to be part of that era.”
Speaking about Alcaraz, he said, “No, I have no regrets. I’ve learned through life that regrets only hold you back and basically make you live in the past. And I don’t want to do that. I also don’t want to live too much in the future. I want to be as much as in the present moment, but of course think about future, create a better future. So I congratulate Alcaraz. He absolutely deserves to come back to No. 1.”
Related: “Because of a certain Rafael Nadal,” David Ferrer laments on his ill luck at the Barcelona Open
Novak Djokovic feels pity to miss playing in America
The Serbian had a fantastic start to the season winning the Adelaide International and the Australian Open back to back. However, things went down for the 35-year-old since then. He suffered an injury during the Major and missed out on playing a few tournaments. His situation got worsened when the American government declined his request to play at the Indian Wells and the Miami Open.
Speaking about this he said, “It’s a pity that I wasn’t able to play in Indian Wells [and] Miami. I love those tournaments. I had plenty of success there. But at the same time, it is the conscious decision I made and I knew that there is always a possibility that I won’t go. And it is the current state or current situation that I hope will change for later this year for the US Open. That is the most important tournament for me on the American soil.”
However, he will be returning directly into the clay season next month after missing out on the action for a couple of months. Fans and experts believe that Djokovic can never be written off as long as he plays, he will be the favorite to win the title. The world No.2 will be pumped up to regain his top spot from Alcaraz in April.
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Santhosh Tenneti
(308 Articles Published)