Tennis needs Novak Djokovic at every Grand Slam

ATP Tour

James Richardson
November 13, 2022

Novak Djokovic being at every major event would be a huge boost to tennis, according to Alex Corretja.

The Spaniard believes Djokovic’s season has been praiseworthy considering the nature and scale of the interruptions to his season.

Djokovic has been able to find his best form time and again despite long breaks in play.

“I mean, Novak’s season has been like a mess and he’s been dealing with it, I think, extremely well,” said Corretja on Eurosport.

“I’m very impressed by the way he’s been handling the whole situation. Every time he’s on court, he’s winning.

“And I’m sure he’s been suffering so much because he loves tennis as much as all the others, but because of the circumstances, he decided that he didn’t want to go through some situations and sacrificed some of the bigger events of the tennis world.

“And especially since he’s been bidding to become the greatest of the whole history at the end of their careers when they retire.

“He’s been for me an example of superiority because every time he plays he’s almost winning.

“And also when you don’t play that much, then it’s difficult to get the rhythm, but he’s been just winning almost every time he plays the tournament.

“So it’s been quite an amazing season from Novak, and I only hope that for next season he could play all the tournaments and all the events, because that would be extremely good for him.

“But it would be super good for tennis, because if you have one of the best players in the history of tennis and he’s not playing the most important tournaments, it definitely changed the dynamics and the history of our game.

“So hopefully he’s going to be able to play because that would be the best for everyone.”

Corretja believes that the 2022 season will motivate Djokovic to win every tournament he enters in the 2023 term.

“I think the motivation for Novak right now is to try to win everything he plays, because he’s zero tired from the season, because he’s been on and off and he’s been winning almost every time he steps on the court, so his confidence must be huge,” continued Corretja.

“The fact that he lost the finals in Bercy might help him also to relieve a little bit the feeling that he cannot lose.

“Now he knows that he can lose, and again trying to win another Masters, it’s something that you have under your belt, 1st, 2nd.

“It’s points that you gain into your ranking to go into the next season, trying not to be as far as the top seeds, because at the end you don’t want to be seat eight or seven, because then you can face the tougher opponents in the quarters.

“So whenever you climb in the rankings it helps you to be a little bit safer for the future. And it brings confidence also when you win, you’re always happier.

“So I think he’s a winner and he’s been showing that he’s a winner and he likes to go there and try to show again that every time that he can play, he’s better than the others.

“And that’s why I think for Novak it’s such a relief to be able to play and he’s happy because he’s showing himself and the others that he’s still there as one of the toughest guys.”

Novak Djokovic