Djokovic opens on career and donation to Italy: he wanted to quit tennis, a loss was a turning point | Tennis

I knew I could do much more with Roger and Raf. I did not want to know about the donation to Italy – said Novak

Who knows what the ATP roster would look like and if someone could break Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s dominance if there hadn’t been a game. In an interview with Italian Sky Sports, Novak Djokovic revealed that he was close to “hanging a racket on a wedge.”

– It was in 2010. In Rolan Garos I lost to Jirgen Melcer. I cried after that defeat. I wanted to quit tennis, I saw everything black. It was just a turning point, I finally broke free. I won the Australian Open in 2008, I was the third player in the world, but I was not happy. He knew he could do much more even though he was missing many important games from Roger and Rafa. Then I took the pressure off and played much more aggressively, “said Novak.

He also found out which matches he will remember forever.

– Last year’s Wimbledon final with Federer and the Nadal 2021 match in Melbourne. These are unique duels; The quality of Roger’s tennis in that match was excellent from the first to the last point, I played very well too, I didn’t miss three tie-breaks and it was probably the first time in my career that something like this happened. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to fight Roger on a legendary field like Wimbledon Central Ground.

Much has changed since then, with the coronary virus pandemic that caused the entire world of sports, including tennis, to “forcibly break down.”

– We were told that the season would continue on July 13, but many said it would not happen. It is important to us that this calendar exists, that you acquire this routine when you know the dates. I train every day, I run, I play with my children. Now it remains to be seen what will happen in the United States, we should play there in August. If it’s less risky, we could play there. There is also an option to cancel these tournaments so that we can play in the fall on a whim. We’ll see.

For the first time, he spoke publicly about donating to Italy.

– I love Italy very much. I lived there a long time. Florence, Perugia, culture, language, everything that attracted me a lot. I also feel a little Italian. Everything that happened in Bergamo, Milan, Lombardy surprised me. I have friends from Bergamo who have told me how dramatic it is. I did not want to know about the donation, I did it from the heart – Djokovic concluded.