Novak Djokovic, bitter admission divides fans
Has Novak Djokovic begun to walk down the sunset path? This is the question that is being asked the most, especially on social media, in the various comments on the legendary Serbian tennis player’s defeat in the third round of the Internazionali d’Italia, against a tennis player who is certainly not unknown, the young Croatian Dino Prizmic, but still far from at least at the moment from the top of the ATP ranking.
In the press conference, Nole made no excuses: “I want to congratulate Dino: he fully deserved the victory today,” he said. “I had come here with the idea of playing more than one match, but in the end that’s what happened. I fought until the last point and that’s a positive aspect, just as all the support from the public was nice, something I never take for granted. But in the end we are here talking about a defeat.”
The six-time winner of the Internazionali d’Italia, the last in 2022, then bitterly admitted what he lacked to prevail over his young colleague: “I always arrive half a step behind. I’m still not at the level I want to be to compete all the way in the big tournaments. The physical condition? I don’t remember a tournament where I didn’t come in with some aches and pains. It is a normal thing but mostly my choice.”
In the immediate future is the 22nd participation, overall and consecutive, at Roland Garros. Carlos Alcaraz’s absence opens a slight glimmer but Djokovic is realistic: “I would have liked to come back a little before Rome, but it was not possible. This is the situation: I have to adapt and bring out the best. I train as much as my body allows me to. Then, what happens in the match is unpredictable.”
Fans are divided into two distinct camps: on the one hand, those who consider a bit of rust normal, for an athlete nearing 39 years of age, who after the semifinals in Melbourne this year had played only three official matches, in Indian Wells; on the other hand, those who think that there is very little gas left in the Serb’s tank and that even at Roland Garros it will be difficult to see him excel again. Only the court will give the real answer, but in the meantime the questions are growing.
