World No. 1 Novak Djokovic says he is always open for a change and he is always striving to be the person he can be. Djokovic fell short in his bid to lift his second title at the French Open as Rafael Nadal dominated the Serb in the final 6-0 6-2 7-5.
“The way I see myself obviously is different the way maybe other people see me. I mean, I try to be true to my core values, what I kind of grew up with,” Djokovic said in his press conference, per Max Gao. “But I was always saying that the only constant in my life is the change.
I am someone that has that kind of approach to life, to really have an open mind, open heart, learn and grow and develop my character, be as best of a human being I can possibly be. I try to remind myself of how blessed I am really to be in this position.
I’m just, yeah, very blessed & grateful to have the life that I have right now, without a doubt. I have to constantly repeat that to myself, that nothing should be taken for granted.”
Djokovic says not being liked by everyone OK to him
Three months ago, Djokovic received lots of criticism after several players tested positive for the coronavirus at his Adria Tour event.
“I understand that there are people that don’t like maybe what I do on/off the court. I understand that I can’t be liked by everyone. That’s fine.
I think it’s important to have an understanding of who you are & your position in this life, be grateful & move on,” Djokovic claimed.
It was one of the worst defeats of Djokovic’s career but he refused to be negative. “Defeats like this are never really enjoyable, but in the greatest of defeats you learn the greatest lessons as a tennis player, but as a person as well”.
Nadal suffered a shock quarterfinal exit at the Rome Masters in his only tournament played before the French Open. “Honestly, one month and a half ago if you tell me you’re going to have this trophy with you again, I will say, ‘This year will probably be too difficult.’
In the sport, the life change quick. I did the things that I had to do with the big support of my team,” Nadal said.