“Some Other Guys Will Replace Us”: Novak Djokovic Hails the Emergence of New Talents on the Men’s Tour

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is one of the most prominent names in the sporting world. There has not been a more dominant athlete as the Serb has turned out to be in the recent past. He has simply been incomparable and has carved out an identity for himself as an individual.

Recently, there has been the emergence of new names on the block. Note that Novak Djokovic insists that there will come a time when he will be replaced by future talents. All in all, it’s a positive sign for tennis to see youngsters giving the best players in the game a run for their money.

Speaking on this topic, Novak stated, “I think it’s a positive thing for our sport to actually have new champions, new faces that are going to be recognized by tennis fans around the world. I don’t mind seeing new winners; I would like to be on the winning side myself everywhere I play, but you know things are different.”

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal lost early in Monte Carlo

Last week in Monte Carlo, Djokovic and Nadal lost in the early stages of the tournament. British player Dan Evans beat the World No. 1 and Rafa was knocked out by young Russian talent Andrey Rublev. These results perhaps give a hint of how things may shape up shortly.

Reflecting on the results in the past week, Djokovic added, “These guys that are challenging the best players in the world. Maybe we have to accept the fact that we will not be in the top rankings of the world soon and some other guys will replace us there, which is a normal cycle of life.”

Coming on to tennis at the beginning of the season, the Serbian ace lifted his 18th Grand Slam title of his career in Melbourne. Later, he surpassed Roger Federer in holding the top spot in rankings for the most time.

After the Australian Open, he took a break to get back to full fitness and directly competed at Monte Carlo. He is currently in his hometown in Belgrade, competing at the ATP Serbia Open 2021.

Also Read: “My Own Level Goes Up”: Stefanos Tsitsipas Reveals Lessons Learned From Australian Open 2021 Loss to Daniil Medvedev