Novak Djokovic’s ‘mentality’ highlighted by Pep Guardiola in glowing comments
Novak Djokovic’s “mentality” has been praised by Pep Guardiola in the aftermath of the Serbian’s epic Olympic Games triumph earlier this month.
World No 2 Djokovic captured his first Olympic gold medal at the fifth time of asking in Paris, battling past Carlos Alcaraz in a 7-6(3), 7-6(2) triumph.
Victory for Djokovic saw him become just the fifth player to complete the ‘Golden Slam’, and also saw him claim the one big title that had previously eluded him.
His win also came just weeks after a heavy defeat to Spanish star Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final, and following an operation to deal with a meniscus issue shortly before that.
The 37-year-old has been praised by many within the sport, and now one of the most famous sporting faces outside of tennis has also paid tribute.
Speaking to Arena Sport TV, Manchester City boss Guardiola – considered by many the best football manager in the world – paid a touching tribute to the Serbian.
“You have to be so proud about Serbia,” said the Spaniard.
“Listen, I don’t talk about Djokovic [his greatness] – that is difficult to say. You know, alongside [Rafael] Nadal and Djokovic, what they have done is amazing. And Djokovic is still there.
“The mentality that he played [in] the final against Alcaraz, that’s the reason why the Olympic Games is something magnificent.”
Novak Djokovic News
Novak Djokovic could get one more week at No 1 in rankings due to Jannik Sinner’s failed drugs test
Tennis great makes Novak Djokovic Grand Slam and retirement prediction – ‘He deserves it all’
It is not the first time that Guardiola has expressed his admiration for Djokovic, Nadal, and fellow ‘big three’ member Roger Federer.
Speaking to Sky Sports back in February, the Spaniard hailed the “hard work” all three put in to separate themselves from the rest of the men’s game.
He said: “There is one detail that defines them, it is how hard they work.
“People believing when you are on top of any sport, it is [due to] talents and skills. But what would define [them] is they work harder than the other ones, they prepare better than the other ones.
“They are the best. They are never satisfied, and how they accept the defeats, and how they accept during the games that they are playing bad.
“I think they can because they work harder than the other ones.”
