He’s the most dominant tennis player of the last decade, maybe even in history, but Serbian Novak Djokovic doesn’t want to be seen as an unaffected superman. “It is important to understand that we are all human, that we all go through difficult times, challenges and obstacles,” said the world number 1, on the sidelines of the Rome Masters.
The man with 22 major titles also declared, during the traditional media day, that it was liberating for him to cry.
“We say to ourselves that we must be strong, always at our best. And as a man, when we go through difficult times, we may be judged or criticized for our way of freeing our emotions, because we cannot be weak”, confided at length “Djoko”, whose the words were echoed by the official tournament website.
“[Pleurer], it can be seen as a sign of weakness, he continued. But I think it’s quite the opposite. […] It’s okay not to be okay, too.”
He will lose the 1er rank
Djokovic will make his comeback in Rome, where he is the defending champion, on Friday against the Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry, 61e world racket.
Moreover, the Serb is already almost guaranteed to lose his first place in the world, regardless of the result of this meeting.
Absent in Madrid due to injury, beaten in his first match in Monte Carlo and his second in Banja Luka, the Serb will once again see Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz overtake him in the standings.
Alcaraz, just 20, has been crowned in Barcelona and Madrid. He only has to play his first match in Rome, scheduled for Saturday against his compatriot Albert Ramos-Vinola (72e), to ensure a return to first place in the world.
A position he has already occupied for 20 weeks at the end of last year and the beginning of this.