Celtic star Matt O’Riley reveals that he is a big fan of the way Novak Djokovic handles himself on the court, as he believes there is a lot he can learn as a professional athlete from the 22-time Grand Slam champion. Djokovic, 35, is one of the greatest players in the history of the sport.
Djokovic’s mental strength is one of the things that stands out the most about the Serb and many believe that his mental game is one of the main reasons why he has carved out such an impressive career. “Novak Djokovic is someone I really like to hear about.
He talks a lot about mindfulness. He’s had so many match points against him, but he always seems the same. I think it’s because of the number of times he’s been in those difficult situations. The best athletes are very good at it.
LeBron James is another who is always very focused and stays as present as he can. If he’s not, he’ll be distracted from what he has to do,” O’Riley told The Scottish Sun. Last year, Djokovic was denied participation in the Australian Open and he was ultimately deported from Australia.
In late 2022, Djokovic was informed that he had the green light to return to Australia at the start of the 2023 season. In his first tournament back in Australia, Djokovic won the Adelaide International. Djokovic then claimed his record tenth Australian Open title.
After winning his 22nd Grand Slam at this year’s Australian Open, Djokovic admitted it was the biggest win of his career. “Only my team and my family know what we’ve been through these last four or five weeks. This is probably the biggest win of my life considering the circumstances,” Djokovic declared.
Following his Australian Open triumph, Djokovic also returned to world number 1 for the first time since early 2022. The Serbian still hopes to play the first two Masters 1000 of the year, Indian Wells and Miami, but to be able to enter the United States he must be vaccinated, which will change as of May 11.
Amritraj opens up on Djokovic
Novak Djokovic has applied to the United States government for an exemption. “It becomes a tricky situation at that point. You know, if you excuse the great tennis player, then a lot of the family members and so forth who’ve been trying to get in, it’s a tricky situation, where do you make that call?” said Prakash Amritraj on the Tennis Channel.
“But a lot of other countries have loosened up these restrictions and it seems it is coming off in May. So should they even be here right now?” he added.
