In a recently published interview with GQ magazine, 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic was asked to say the first word that comes to his mind when asked about some of his biggest rivals.
However, his choice of word for world No 1 Jannik Sinner has resulted in some controversy after online fans thought it to be a sign of disrespect towards the Italian.
It is as clear as day that the way he is dominating is worthy of every praise – both his playing style and the level of play.
And that’s what we did. In the Serbian part of Novak’s press conference, Djokovic just shrugged before saying: “Yes, I’ve seen it on social media that it’s being made into some kind of drama or a story, like I humiliated him or I’ve intentionally shown disrespect toward him. That’s ridiculous. It was one of those quiz type of interviews, where you have to think of something in a second. Sinner’s name came up and I had this image in my head of him skiing, because I saw he was skiing somewhere. Also, the two of us talk about skiing always, how we’re going to ski together (Djokovic grew up on a Kopaonik mountain) etc”, Djokovic said.
The Serb went on to add, “That’s why I said ’skiing’, not because I don’t respect his achievements in tennis, on the contrary. It is as clear as day that the way he is dominating is worthy of every praise – both his playing style and the level of play. He’s got all the attributes I’ve mentioned in others (Federer, Nadal, Alcaraz), and now people make it seem like I am disrespecting him. Rubbish.”
At this year’s Australian Open, Djokovic and Sinner could potentially meet only in the final. In the opening round, 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic faces 19-year-old American Nishesh Basavareddy, while Sinner will play Chile’s Nicolas Jarry. The main draw of the Australian Open starts on Sunday.
