Djokovic destroyed by Radovic's death: "I didn't really want to play"

In these days the Orthodox Metropolitan of Montenegro Anfilohije Radovic, a prominent person in the country and within the Serbian Orthodox Church, passed away at the age of 83. The death of Radovic, positive for Coronavirus since the beginning of October, was announced shortly before the match between Novak Djokovic and Lorenzo Sonego in the quarter-finals of the Vienna tournament and certainly represented a "bad blow" for the world number one. .

Novak knew the man personally and a few hours later he suffered one of the most sensational defeats of his career, a 6-2; 6-1 against the Italian tennis player and new number 32 in the world Lorenzo Sonego.

This situation is certainly not an excuse but what is certain, as Djokovic said at the conference, is that the tennis player did not want to play: "Yes, to be honest I didn't want to play a lot. This sad news has had an effect on me, but obviously not enough to force me not to play. The truth is that I came to Vienna with a goal and I managed to achieve it."

Novak Djokovic's words about Radovic

After the match, Novak Djokovic spent nice words for this prominent religious figure in the Serbian world and made the following statements to the Tennis Majors microphones: "Today is a very sad day. I had the great honor and privilege of meeting this man, spending time with him and feeling the beautiful energy he possessed and conveyed. Even if he is no longer with us physically, I am sure that his spirit will still be felt around us for a long time.

I think we should remember him with a smile and be grateful for all he has done, especially recently with the political turmoil that has characterized Montenegro. There was a lot at stake, particularly with regard to the church and he was courageous and set an example of how to preserve and cultivate our cultural heritage and all our traditions."

After the match lost against Sonego, Nole said: "The truth is that securing the top position on the ATP rankings until the end of the season affected me. This totally affected my game. I felt I had already achieved the goal for which I came to Vienna. I did not have the energy. I am completely healthy and focused to get in the best possible condition for the ATP Finals in London. Sonego was simply superior to me in all areas of the game. It was a pretty bad match to play. my part and positive on his part. He deserved to win."

Novak Djokovic will skip the Rolex Paris Masters, ATP Masters 1000 in Paris-Bercy, in order to come back to play at the ATP Finals in London, where he will try to break the record of titles won which he share with Roger Federer.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3oXCLqY