During his stay in Rome where he is participating in the Masters 1000 in the Italian capital, Novak Djokovic spoke in detail about his relationship with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, his two great rivals on the circuit. He recognized that it is impossible to establish a friendship, but also that thanks to them he grew up and is who he is today.
“We have never been friends, between rivals you cannot; but we have never been enemies. I have always had respect for Federer, he was one of the greatest of all time. He had an extraordinary impact, but I have never been close to him.”he said when asked about the Swiss.
While referring to Spanish he said: “He’s only a year older than me, we’re both Geminis, at first we even went to dinner together. But even with him, friendship is impossible. I’ve always respected and admired him a lot. Thanks to him and Federer I grew up and became who I am. This will unite us forever; therefore I feel gratitude towards them. Nadal is part of my life, in the last fifteen years I have seen him more than my mother…”.
When reviewing some moments of his life, he remembered one in his childhood that marked him forever. “One day I was alone in the forest and I came across a wolf. I felt a deep fear. I had been told that in these cases you have to go back slowly, without losing sight of it. We looked at each other for ten seconds, the longest of my life; then he turned to the left and walked away. I felt a very strong sensation that has never left me: a connection of soul, of spirit. It was a short meeting, but very important. Because the wolf symbolizes my character”counted.
Novak Djokovic and all his controversy over the vaccine against Covid-19
The Serbian tennis player was undoubtedly on everyone’s lips when, after the rise of the pandemic, the circuit began to restart and it was learned that he did not want to apply the recently manufactured vaccine. This decision left him out of several tournaments, generated a lot of criticism and even had him detained in Australia, when he tried to enter the country to play the first Grand Slam in 2022.
“I suffered everything on my skin. Many people have appreciated that I have remained constant. 95 percent of what has been written and said on television about me in the last three years is totally false”he explained.
He further added: “I am pro choice: I stand for freedom of choice. It is a fundamental human right to be free to decide what things to inject into the body and what not. I was labeled anti-vaccination, a completely false thing, which still gives me stomach aches”.
Finally, he also referred to how the place where he was held in Australia was like and how he feels he is still connected with some of the people he met there. “A prison. I couldn’t open the window. I was there for less than a week, but I found young people, war refugees, who had been there for a long time. My case has served to clarify them, almost all of them have been released and that comforts me. A young man Sirio had been there for nine years. Now he is in America, when he comes back this summer I want to meet him again and invite him to see me at the US Open. I also feel connected to him.”he assured.
2023-05-16 11:31:26
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