Who was going to tell us just a few years ago that Nick Kyrgios y Novak Djokovic They would be not only circuit mates, but great friends. After what happened in Australia back in 2022, the truth is that Australian and Serbian have created an unexpected bond for many that has led to conversations like the ones Nick has recently shared inside your podcast Good Trouble. Sitting in the Rod Laver Arena, in a talk that took place before the last Australian Open, Nole opened up about his motivation at this moment, his mentality and discipline, how his friendship with Nick arose and the debate of the GOAT, in addition to many other interesting aspects that we detail here.
– How Djokovic and Kyrgios settled their differences
“The truth is that I don’t know what I did to cause the behavior you had towards me (laughs). It was interesting to be like this for several years, there was a part of me that asked me not to play along with you, not to answer you. You were going to the limit , you pushed all the buttons. Afterwards, I thought I should talk to you, because I didn’t know what I had done to you. Two years ago, what happened in Australia happened, I don’t want to relive it, they were hard times… and you stood up for me. “You were one of the few colleagues who spoke in public and defended me. That is something I will never forget. Since that moment, our relationship has improved.”
– Djokovic’s beginnings and a love for tennis from a very young age
“It was love at first sight, yes. I was four years old and I was in a war-torn country. I started in the mountains of Kopaonik, in the south of Serbia, where my parents had a restaurant. There were three tennis courts there and the workers They saw me sticking to the fence, curious about everything that was happening there. They told me: ‘Why don’t you bring us a beer and in exchange we’ll let you prepare the track with us?’ And that’s what happened, I brought them beers and water and they let me be there with them.
From that moment on, I begged my parents to buy me a racket because I wanted to play tennis. This is how my relationship with tennis began. The upbringing you have, how attached you are to your roots, the connection you have with the tradition of your country… is something very important. “It is important to maintain the connection with your family and with all those who sacrificed so that you can fulfill your dream.”
– Do you feed off the feeling of being the “bad boy” of tennis and everything that the press has commented about him?
“(Thinks) People think I feed off of people who don’t like me or when I face certain adversity. Over the years, I’ve learned something: You’re not going to get far if you respond to every comment or every article that someone makes about you. It’s going to take you out of your comfort zone, it’s going to make you angry… and I don’t want to live with those emotions. Sometimes you need to receive a shock to bring out the best version of yourself, but. “Most of the time I want to enjoy life, have a good relationship with people. I care about this sport, I care about, hopefully, making people happy with my tennis.”
– Discipline to achieve your best version
“If you want to do something well in life, you have to be consistent. I always try to express gratitude for the life I have, but there are also mornings when I don’t feel as motivated, when there is a lack of inspiration to travel and to play tennis; I feel like I want to be at home, with my family, with my children, with my wife, I want to live a ‘normal life’. That’s when you have to overcome that: it all starts in the mind. yourself: what do you really want? What is your purpose? That is the fundamental question you must answer. Clarity helps you set your goals, and if you are an athlete you have to be repetitive with your routines to achieve the reward. the results. You must deal with the emotions that affect you off the court.
During the first part of my career, I didn’t feel good about myself. I broke rackets, I screamed… it doesn’t mean that I’m totally okay with it today, because when I do it I’m ashamed of myself, I hate myself for doing it, but at the same time, in the last five years I’ve accepted my flaws, I’ve I accept that I make mistakes, and I try to be a better version of myself the next day. “That makes me at peace with myself, I no longer feel ashamed to admit that I have flaws and imperfections.”
– After everything you have won… do you still maintain motivation? Where does that flame that keeps beating come from?
“It’s a question I keep asking myself. I have days when I’m very motivated, when little four-year-old Novak, who started playing tennis in Serbia, is still hungry and wants more. At the same time, he also There is a more mature Novak, who is a father and husband, and who thinks that there are also other things in life that wants to continue, that thinks that I have no limits, that I have no expiration date, but I also feel. that I have had an incredible career for more than 20 years, that I have achieved everything I dreamed I could achieve. I am grateful to be where I am right now.
– The endless debates about the GOAT and the benefits that can come from it
“I enjoy people talking about it. Why? The more people talk about it, the more attention tennis gets and the more tennis benefits. As a tennis player, I want more kids to be interested in this sport, to take a racket, watch a tennis match. We want that within the tennis ecosystem. Of course, I will never say who I think is the GOAT of tennis, I will never say it, mainly because of the respect I have for all the legends of all generations. who arrived before us. It is very difficult to compare wooden rackets with the technology we have today. Before, there were people who couldn’t even take planes to get to where we got to.
2024-05-18 12:53:52
#Djokovics #brutal #confession #Kyrgios #motivation
