Novak Djokovic revealed his stubborn “rebel’s mentality” in a tell-all interview recently.
Djokovic is the best player in the world at the moment, and is the man to beat in men’s tennis. The World No. 1 has been on top of the mountain for months now, with some contenders looking to knock him off his perch.
Those two contenders are Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev. The two players are world-class themselves, and have even outplayed the Serbian a few times. Nevertheless, the 20-time Grand Slam winner respects the both of them, and revealed how he relates to them.
Djokovic revealed his stubborn “rebel’s mentality” in a tell-all interview recently, and praised both Medvedev and Zverev for displaying good tenacity.
In an interview with French publication L’Equipe as quoted by Tennis365, Djokovic said, “He (Medvedev) is not politically correct, but I am like that. I can easily identify with that.
“The same for Zverev. He has the same approach. We can talk about a rebel’s mentality but not only that. We want to be authentic, stick to our values.”
Similar mindset
“When you make a mistake, I like it when you say: ‘I made a mistake’. If you want to criticise me, OK, it is your choice,” he continued.
“I am not perfect but I am going to try to learn from all this. I don’t like it when people present themselves as perfect, on and off the court. That does not exist.
“That is why I appreciate Sasha and Daniil. And they are incredible tennis players. I would have hoped to have kicked their backsides a few times this year in Tokyo or in New York but we always ended up joking about it.
“I love it. It is the rivalry of the Next Gen: Zverev, Djokovic, Medvedev!”
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