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BELGRADE, SERBIA – JUNE 14: (L-R)The Djokovic family, Novak’s mother Dijana, Novak Djokovic, Novak’s brother Djordje, Novak’s father Srdjan and Novak’s wife Jelena pose during the Adria Tour Final match between Dominic Thiem of Austria and Filip Krajinovic of Serbia charity exhibition hosted by Novak Djokovic on June 14, 2020 in Belgrade, Serbia. (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)
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BELGRADE, SERBIA – JUNE 14: (L-R)The Djokovic family, Novak’s mother Dijana, Novak Djokovic, Novak’s brother Djordje, Novak’s father Srdjan and Novak’s wife Jelena pose during the Adria Tour Final match between Dominic Thiem of Austria and Filip Krajinovic of Serbia charity exhibition hosted by Novak Djokovic on June 14, 2020 in Belgrade, Serbia. (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic began the season on a high note. He lifted his ninth Australian Open title in Melbourne, making him the most successful player of the tournament. Earlier this month, he surpassed Roger Federer’s record by holding the number one rankings for over 310 weeks.
Recently, Novak Djokovic’s father Srdjan Djokovic spoke about the criticism his son receives and indicated that the negativity doesn’t bother him. According to him, the World No. 1 player looks at tennis from a broader perspective. He claimed Novak is fighting for equality for the rest of the players who are not privileged.
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LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 14: Roger Federer of Switzerland and Novak Djokovic of Serbia embrace at the net after their singles match during Day Five of the Nitto ATP Finals at The O2 Arena on November 14, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by James Chance/Getty Images)
Novak Djokovic remains unfazed by criticism
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While speaking to Sputnik News, the 60-year-old stated, “It doesn’t bother him at all. That Serbian stubbornness is well-known, and it seems to me that the more he invents some things that have nothing to do with the truth and the brain, the better and better he plays. He wants to show that tennis is not just a tennis game, but that tennis is life. That life is for those few thousand fantastic young players he is fighting for.”
(Quotes have been translated with Google Translate)
Srdjan took a dig at his arch-rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. He went on to say that they do not support Novak in matters that are good for the underprivileged players.
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Novak Djokovic of Serbia shakes hands with Rafael Nadal of Spain after winning the match point during their final singles match daring day 10 of the ATP Cup at Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Andy Cheung/Getty Images)
The senior Djokovic added, “It’s much harder because it doesn’t have the support of Federer and Nadal, which is really an amazing fact to me … as if they haven’t already taken enough money, so they need a few more millions, a few billion … I don’t know what it’s about, but yes they don’t support Novak for something that is generally good for those people who can barely make ends meet, it’s a really amazing enigma for me.”
Over the years, Novak has created an identity for himself even when the men’s game was being dominated by Federer and Nadal. As of today, he enjoys a better head-to-head record against the two legends of the game.
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By winning the Australian Open this season, Djokovic increased his Grand Slam tally to 18 titles. He is two shy of the record held by the Swiss athlete and the Spanish player who are tied at 20 Majors each.
Also Read: Dominic Thiem Reveals He Would Love to Be in Rafael Nadal’s Shoes for a Day
