Novak Djokovic celebrated a victory again almost two months later after defeating Laslo Djere in his debut at the Belgrade tournament. A triumph that, however, also showed Djokovic’s shortcomings in his game in a rather irregular 2022, not being able to play numerous tournaments due to his refusal to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
In the press conference after the match, Djokovic confessed that he knew how to face the match better than in Monte Carlo and that it is strange for him to play against Serbian tennis players, with whom he has a great relationship. “It was a dramatic match, over three hours, but I won. Djere played very well and was better for a large part of the match. Unlike in Monte Carlo, I overcame and won. But I will have to play much better against Kecmanovic because he is in very good shape. It is very strange for me to play against Serbian tennis players because I see them as friends, we train together… I am very happy when they are successful. Djere, for example, has a better work habit than us, and even if he is a friend, when I play I do it to win.”
Djokovic was also asked about the big news of the day in tennis: Wimbledon’s decision not to let players from Russia and Belarus play this year due to the Ukraine War, including world number 2 Daniil Medvedve. A decision by Djokovic does not share. “I will never support wars because I am a child of war. I know the emotional trauma it leaves behind and we know what happened in the Balkans and in 1999. People are suffering but I cannot support the Wimbledon decision because Russian and Belarusian tennis players they have nothing to do with it. The Wimbledon decision is crazy.”