“People have the wrong image of Djokovic”

The 2021 season will be Viktor Troicki's last as a professional tennis player. The Serbian tennis player hangs up his racket to fully focus on his new role as captain of the Serbian Davis Cup team, a title he has already won as a player and now hopes to win from the other side of the court.

In an interview for the Serbian media Objektiv Troicki analyzed the great health of Serbian tennis beyond the figure of Novak Djokovic. “It is up to me to choose the five tennis players who will go to the Davis Cup but it is up to them if they want to play. The most important thing is that they feel good and have a good atmosphere. They do not need extra preparation, they are already preparing all year long. and I hope they arrive healthy. We have five tennis players in the Top-50: Novak Djokovic, Krajinovic, Lajovic, Djere and Kecmanovic. We have a strong team. There are also young talents like Hamad Medjedovic, who is talented but still has a lot to do. I may be the tennis player of the future but it all depends on him. They are worth it, they deserve our attention and I am sure they will be good in the future. “

Troicki also took the opportunity to denounce the entry of more children into professional sports and regretted that there are people who use them for their own interests. “The use of children has become normal in sports where money moves. So-called managers see a lot of potential in children, invest in them and earn ten times more. That seems to have become normal. Children sign professional contracts at age 11, they become slaves, that's not the right thing to do in sport or for all of us who fight and play tennis. But unfortunately it has become normal “

The Serbian Davis Cup captain also spoke of Novak Djokovic's current form and wanted to downplay the Serbian's recent defeats, whom he sees prepared for the Grand Slam tournaments. “I couldn't talk to Djokovic after his loss to Karatsev. He hasn't shone in the first clay court tournaments, but he sure is ready for Roland Garros, he still has a lot to play for. It does not matter that Djokovic has now lost in two tournaments in a row because his priority is the Grand Slam. He does not show the real image of his form and will be the strongest in the major tournaments. In Paris he will not have it easy but he will be one of the favorites at Wimbledon and the US Open. He should win another Grand Slam this year. “

Finally Troicki wanted to make a plea in favor of Djokovic before the numerous criticisms that 'Nole' has received for being Serbian. “We all see that aversion towards Serbs. Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer were at the top before Nole came along and all of a sudden a boy from Serbia comes along who wins every tournament and the others don't like that. We know how the situation in our country has been in recent decades, the world does not have a good image of us and that is why some condemn it and have a wrong image of it. He is a boy with good intention, he wants to help everyone and he has shown it many times. Many condemn him because they do not know him or want to harm him. It's not nice because they're wrong about it. “