'Roger Federer and Nadal are like Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama', says legend

Novak Djokovic left Tokyo without even a medal, confirming his not-so-great feeling with the Olympic Games. The number 1 in the world had arrived in Japan not in the best of conditions, especially due to the efforts accumulated in the previous two months. The triumphs at Roland Garros and Wimbledon had drained much of his energy, but the dream of achieving the 'Calendar Golden Slam' and his attachment to Serbia had prompted him to try. After strolling to the semifinal, the 34-year-old from Belgrade was literally ditched when he was one set and one break ahead against Alexander Zverev. The 20-time Grand Slam champion has lost ten of the last eleven games of the match and has never been able to get up again. Nole also failed the appointment with the bronze, having been defeated in the 'final' by an excellent Pablo Carreno Busta. During the match against the Spaniard, Djokovic expressed all his frustration by throwing a racket into the stands and throwing another against the support of the net. Behaviors that have certainly not gone unnoticed in an event with so much resonance. In a recent interview, American legend Tracy Austin made a comparison between Djokovic and his eternal rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Tracy Austin slams Novak Djokovic

“First of all, Novak Djokovic imploding,” Tracy Austin started. “I have never seen a player where they actually kind of hit the ball in the net and take the racquet and chuck it 15 rows up into the stadium. I will say, for Djokovic, he’s being compared to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal; these are like Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama. I mean, you know, they don’t do anything wrong. So, if he played in the era of John McEnroe, Ilie Nastase, and Jimmy Connors, he’d be number 4.” Conclusively, Austin explained that although he aims to be a perfectionist, he is not perfect or even great. “You know, he’s a perfectionist, he has his outbursts, he doesn’t love it either. He is not perfect, he is not great, but it’s never easy when he’s the target all the time.” She ended, “He’s No.1 in the world; I am not condoning it. He has a lot of pressure.” After his third-round match Novak Djokovic was asked a simple question about the pressure of dealing with the ambition of a 'Calendar Golden Slam' - which the Serb was then going for. Djokovic answered that by referring to no one but himself, and framed it around the question that was asked - on the topic of the Golden Slam. But this was misinterpreted (or maybe intentionally misquoted to stir controversy) as "Novak Djokovic's take on Simone Biles' withdrawal", and reported by a string of publications as such.

 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3fwTbU5