“At 36, he’s hungry like a teenager,” Novak Djokovic’s mentality and work ethic earn praise from Tommy Haas who compares Nole to Becker and Sampras

Tommy Haas has heaped massive praise on the Serbian for his never-ending hunger.

“At 36, he’s hungry like a teenager,” Novak Djokovic’s mentality and work ethic earn praise from Tommy Haas who compares Nole to Becker and Sampras

Tommy Haas, Novak Djokovic (Images via tennis magazine, NBC SPorts)

Serbian tennis ace Novak Djokovic has been on the tour for almost two decades now, but the hunger to win a title has not gone down one bit and that is what former German ace Tommy Haas is impressed with. Djokovic recently won a Grand Slam title, his 24th, in New York, beating Daniil Medvedev. The Serbian then declared that he wanted more. 

This mentality of Djokovic despite being in the twilight of his career, has impressed Haas who compared the Serbian with the likes of Pete Sampras and Boris Becker. While talking about the rise of good tennis players back in Germany, Haas cited Djokovic’s example to explain how the competition has become tougher with players staying on the tour for longer periods now. 

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Haas also talked about how youngsters can learn to reach the top by defying all the odds from the Serbian who claims to have grown up during the war and reached this level. “People know how hard it is to get to the top of the world in this sport, especially now that good people are playing longer,” said Haas to Tennis Magazine.

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“Pete Sampras and Boris Becker retired at 30, but Djokovic at 36 is hungry like a teenager, that’s his mentality. When he tells stories about how he grew up during the war and dreamed of giving his family a better life… you can’t learn that, you either have it or you don’t.”

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Tommy Haas wants tennis to adopt Formula 1’s format

Apart from talking about Novak Djokovic’s hungry mentality, Tommy Haas also talked about an ideal calendar for tennis. The German said that he wants tennis to go the Formula 1 way where 20 big tournaments are organized across the globe while keeping the four Grand Slam events in the loop. Haas also explained the rationale behind it, saying it would help popularize tennis where there is room for growth.

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Tommy Haas (Image via Tennis World)

“I would bet on the Formula One format: 20 really big tournaments, preferably always with men and women together, each tournament lasting a week and a half in the best facilities in the world. Of course, respecting the four Grand Slam tournaments that exist and the nine current Masters 1000, but we must look for new places where tennis has room for growth, where tennis can be even more popular,” said Haas.

It is worth mentioning that ATP has already made a move in this direction (to hold tournaments in countries where tennis is still growing) as it will be holding the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for the next five years, starting in 2023.

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