Tuesday, March 19, 2024 |
I am fond of Kate Moss, says Diana Penty, about her fashion iconKriti Kharbanda, Pulkit Samrat share pictures from dreamy weddingActor Rajinikanth visits Hyderabad Metro Rail Project, applauds Operations Control CentreMrunal Thakur to speak at UN panel on human cost of conflict-related sexual violenceHyderabad: Charminar’s Nimrah Café & Bakery goes 24/7 for Ramadan seasonIleana D’Cruz drops adorable pictures with partner Michael DolanHyderabad edging towards drinking water crisis!Highest power supply registered in Telangana with 298.19 mu in one dayNobody else is able to do portray women on screen like Bhansali, says SonakshiSanjay Leela Bhansali launches own music label

Wimbledon or World Cup final? Novak Djokovic makes his choice

Posted June 18th, 2018, 10:49 AM IST

Wimbledon or World Cup final? Novak Djokovic makes his choice

London: Novak Djokovic insists he would happily miss a first appearance for Serbia in the World Cup final if it means he is back in the Wimbledon title match.

Djokovic is an avid fan of the Serbian national team, who kicked off their World Cup campaign with a 1-0 win over Costa Rica in Russia on Sunday.





Celebrating wildly after his friend Aleksandar Kolarov bagged Serbia's winner with a superb free-kick, Djokovic watched the match from in a raucous players' lounge at Queen's Club in west London, where he is preparing for the start of the Wimbledon warm-up event next week.

But the 31-year-old was surprised when he was told he would likely miss out on watching Serbia if they make a surprise appearance in the World Cup final.

That is because the showpiece in Moscow is scheduled to kick off just hours after the Wimbledon men's final begins at the All England Club on July 15.

In truth, unfancied Serbia -- who are competing at their first major tournament since 2010 -- are far less likely to make the final than Djokovic, who is a three-time Wimbledon champion.

But pressed on the potential fixture clash, Djokovic laughed off talk of mixed feelings.

"Really? I didnt know that. Wow," he told reporters. "From your mouth to gods ears as they say, hopefully that can happen. "I've been fortunate to win Wimbledon three times and play well there.

"If that happens I would obviously be very happy to miss the World Cup final!"

While Djokovic would swap World Cup glory for his own Wimbledon success, the proud Serb has been relishing his country's return to the big time in Russia.

"In the last 15 minutes I had to change a couple of shorts," he said of the nervous conclusion to Serbia's win over Costa Rica.

"We didn't qualify for last World Cup and the last two Euros, so we didn't get a chance to enjoy these matches for a long time.

"This was best way to start campaign. Everybody is watching in the players lounge."

Insights

Djokovic has built up good relationships with several of the Serbia squad, often picking their brains about different ways to improve his training regime.

"I'm friends with Kolarov who scored an amazing goal today, and (Nemanja) Matic, these guys," he said.

"It's a different sport, but we share a lot of things in common as athletes. We support each other, but can also share insights into how we train.

"As individual athletes we miss that feeling of being in a team. We only have that for the Davis Cup. "When you are playing for your nation, spending time together, it is wonderful."

Kolarov and company still have two more tricky group stage fixtures against Switzerland and Brazil. But Djokovic is already dreaming of Serbia advancing to the knockout stages in Russia.

"Serbia have been quite successful in basketball over the years, but football is the most popular sport in the world and in our country as well," he added. "Everyone would love to see the national team go far."

Sharing

Photos
Latest

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: Warning

Message: file_get_contents(): http:// wrapper is disabled in the server configuration by allow_url_fopen=0

Filename: views/newsdetails.php

Line Number: 29

Backtrace:

File: /home5/am2pm/public_html/application/views/newsdetails.php
Line: 29
Function: file_get_contents

File: /home5/am2pm/public_html/application/controllers/News.php
Line: 135
Function: view

File: /home5/am2pm/public_html/application/controllers/News.php
Line: 77
Function: newsdetails

File: /home5/am2pm/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: Warning

Message: file_get_contents(http://www.indiaaffiliates.in/ads.php?size=300X250): failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found

Filename: views/newsdetails.php

Line Number: 29

Backtrace:

File: /home5/am2pm/public_html/application/views/newsdetails.php
Line: 29
Function: file_get_contents

File: /home5/am2pm/public_html/application/controllers/News.php
Line: 135
Function: view

File: /home5/am2pm/public_html/application/controllers/News.php
Line: 77
Function: newsdetails

File: /home5/am2pm/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

Opinion Poll
shambo shankara movie
Hit
Average
flop
Advertisement
advertisement
Videos