Novak Djokovic plays his opener in the Manolo Santana Stadium on Saturday against Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi on his return to the Caja Magica after a three-year absence. Beforehand, the Serb took to the mic at Jaime Leal’s ‘Iguales’ podcast and once again gave some very intriguing answers.
One of the big topics the conversation touched upon was the expectations and pressure Nole puts on himself. Many players manage to enjoy themselves, play their best tennis and achieve their goals by relaxing and taking some of the pressure off their shoulders. Nole, though, is built differently. Nole needs that pressure. He is a competitive animal in every sense: “A long time ago I accepted that that’s just me, I have to demand more of myself every day. That will always be the case and I’m not going to be able to get away from that pressure. It doesn’t always have to be negative. With time you learn how to handle it on and off the court. Every stage of life is different and it presents you with new situations you have to deal with. It’s a challenge and that’s fun to me. It’s almost a philosophy of life to embrace the new challenges life throws at you. It’s easy to talk about it sitting here in a comfortable chair, but the reality is that when you’re on court sometimes you’re freaking out. The emotions and thoughts sometimes defeat you. Other times you manage to turn that around, it’s a constant internal battle. The hardest job is defeating yourself”, he explained.
Nole also took some time to talk about Alcaraz’s statements and his own vision of his goals and the search for happiness: “I completely agree with everything Carlitos has been saying. He’s very young, but he has a very good base, good roots, family, values, etc. And of course, he’s an incredible athlete. He has the full package. He still has a lot of time ahead and it will be challenging on and off the court. That’s part of his journey and he seems to have the right approach in terms of that balance between winning and finding happiness in the rest of his life”.
The rivalry between the two players has produced some thrilling encounters: “The first time we played was here in Madrid with an electric atmosphere. I already knew, but I experienced first-hand that day that he has something special. I’m impressed at how he handles the pressure and nerves at difficult moments. He beat me 7-6 in the final set and then he beat me in a Wimbledon final where I was leading. It’s amazing how he plays his best tennis when it’s needed. Those are the traits of a champion. This is just the beginning, which is scary!”.
Nole has been working with Andy Murray since the start of the year. The 24-time Grand Slam champion explained why he chose the Scot: “Andy is one of the most professional people I know in terms of nutrition, fitness, recovery… also he knows all the players in every generation that I play. So I valued that and I didn’t hesitate to ask him to work with me. We’ve known each other for many years, more as rivals than friends, but I thought we’d understand each other perfectly. Now I know him as a person in private and I love his personality and the way he thinks. I’m happy about the decision to include him”.
In the build-up to the Copa del Rey final, which takes place on Saturday in Spain, the Serb didn’t want to stick his neck out: “Don’t ask me that question now… I love football and I’ll watch the match. They’re both great teams, I’m a bit more of a Madrid fan, but it’s true that maybe Barça is the slight favourite. But it’s football and anything can happen”, concluded the Serbian legend.
