Novak Djokovic: 'You're walking past them and having a little...'

The second test on Novak Djokovic's path at the Tokyo Olympics should have told us something more about the condition of the number 1 in the world. The Serbian champion faced Jan-Lennard Struff, a formidable rival on outdoor hardcourt with an excellent serve. The 20-time Grand Slam champion got rid of it thanks to the score of 6-4 6-3, without ever giving the impression of suffering from the aggression of the German. Nole suffered only a small empty pass in the second set, making the break come back ahead, but inertia has always remained firmly in the hands of the 34-year-old from Belgrade. Nole, who continues to hope for a sensational 'Calendar Golden Slam', will now face Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for a place in the quarter-finals. The Iberian is having a good season, but does not seem to have the weapons to worry Djokovic on his favorite surface. In recent days, Novak had complained about the scheduling of the matches, deeming it inadequate in relation to the extreme climatic conditions that the players have to deal with.

Djokovic had little trouble beating Jan-Lennard Struff 

"I'm having a lot of fun on the court and I'm having a lot of fun in the village," Novak Djokovic said. "For individual athletes like us, this is a very unique experience. It is special for any athlete to be part of the Olympic Games representing his or her own country. There are 10,000+ athletes in the village," he added. "You're walking past them and having a little chat, dining next to them, training next to them, recovering next to them, talking about life, about sports. That's really something that we don't get to experience at all. The Olympics is the only place where you get to feel that team spirit," Djokovic went on. "That energy that I try to thrive on and use for my performance, and it has been working well so far." Novak Djokovic has been turning heads lately not just because of who he is, but also because of what he has a chance to accomplish this year. "I'm representing my country and myself, but I'm also representing tennis," Djokovic said. "So it (the attention) is a huge honor, honestly. I am very happy to see there's a lot of attention towards tennis players. There's a lot of people that follow tennis and give us support. For me of course it feeds me with good energy to perform well."

 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3iXOJi8