Djokovic was against the Wimbledon decision, which marginalized Russian tennis players

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has not only had effects on social and political aspects, but also on sports. Precisely, different disciplines have condemned the aforementioned attack and in tennis they adopted drastic measures: Wimbledon will not allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes. The news caused a great impact and Novak Djokovic referred to the subject.

‘Nole’ has been participating in the ATP World Tour 250 in Belgrade and, after beating Laslo Djere, he was critical of the decision of the Grand Slam authorities in England. “I will always condemn war. I know, as a child of conflicts like this, about the emotional traumas that it leaves behind, and that the people are the ones who suffer the most”, explained the Serb at a press conference.

“In the Balkans we had many wars in recent history. However, I cannot support the Wimbledon decision, because the players have nothing to do with it.”, added the number one in the ATP ranking. For now, the determination remains firm.

It is worth mentioning that with this arrangement, Daniil Medvedev (No. 2), Andrey Rublev (No. 8), Karen Khachanov (No. 26) and Aslan Karatsev (No. 30) will not be present in the men’s Grand Slam. And in the women’s category, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (No. 15) and Daria Kasatkina (No. 26) from Russia are left out; while for Belarus, there is Aryna Sabalenka, world number four and semifinalist in 2021, and Victoria Azarenka (No. 18).

Novak Djokovic aims at Roland Garros

Serbian Novak Djokovic is picking up pace little by little and revealed that his goal is to get to Roland Garros in good shape. For now, he will have at least one more match at the ATP Belgrade: he will face his compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic (ATP: 38) in the quarterfinals.

“I’m not at my maximum but it’s not the first time I’ve experienced situations like this either, and I know what I have to do. I will try to use my experience to raise my level of play. I need more games and this win (over Laslo Djere) is very important for my self-confidence, especially from a mental perspective.”, explained ‘Nole’.