“Novak Is Different”: Tennis Legend Feels Novak Djokovic Is ‘Misunderstood’

In the men’s game, Novak Djokovic has been one of the most ruthless players in recent times. The manner in which he has dominated the tennis scene over the past 12 months has been remarkable.

Recently, former Grand Slam finalist Alex Corretja spoke about the Serb. He felt that Djokovic will go down as probably the best in history, but he may still not be loved as much as his rivals Federer and Nadal. 

Speaking on the 20-time champion, Alex stated, “I think in a way, Novak is a little bit misunderstood all the time. I don’t know if it is because of his character. Probably when he’s on the court, he’s doing things that people pretty much don’t understand. Roger is elegant. He is like, sweet. Everything comes naturally. And Rafa is like, the biggest fighter of the whole history, probably. Novak is different.”

ALSO READ: “There Won’t Be A New Big Three”: Juan Carlos Ferrero on Tennis After Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic

Fans at times misread Novak Djokovic 

Corretja feels that people do not understand Djokovic as a person. They have another picture of him in mind. On the other hand, fans are mesmerized by Federer‘s grace. Even Rafa is probably the greatest fighter in the sport. Novak does have a tendency to get worked up and let out negative emotions. 

The 47-year-old added, “He can get upset. And he’s not thinking like, ‘oh I can’t break the racket because I’m in the middle of 25,000 people and millions watching on TV. He just lets his emotions out. He deserves all the credit because, for me, he’s just giving us so much, on the court and off the court, that I can only say thank you to him like Roger and Rafa what they bring to our sport.”

Coming to tennis, Djokovic won the first three Grand Slam events this season. Sadly, he did not win the US Open. Nonetheless, it was one of his best seasons on the Tour and it will be interesting to see how he performs in the 2022 season.

Watch this story: The Journey of Roger Federer to the Elite Billionaire’s Club