World No.25 Vikor Toricki has spoken to Bulgarian media about Novak Djokovic’s current dominance in the sport during an interview with a sports TV program on tvplus.bg.
Troicki has played his fellow compatriot 14 times on the tour. His only win occurred in their first meeting at the 2007 Umag Open. The two men have remained good friends on the tour throughout their careers. When Troicki was sanctioned for an anti-doping violation in 2013 after failing to provide a blood sample, Djokovic labelled the decision as ‘total injustice’. Speaking about Djokovic’s current form on the ATP Tour, Troicki said that he was on ‘a different level’ compared to everybody else.
“There is not much to talk about it because it is obvious -he in No.1 by a wide margin, his game is absolutely amazing, almost crazy how plays, he’s on a different level, I even wonder if he practices a different sport from the remaining players”. Troicki said.
One of the contributing factors to Djokovic’s triumph has been put down to his diet. Djokovic is renowned for his infamous diet, which is gluten-free. The world No.1 wrote in his biography ‘serve to win’ that he started his gluten-free diet after tests found that he had an intolerance to wheat and dairy, as well as a mild sensitivity to tomatoes. Troicki spoke about following in Djokovic’s footsteps, admitting that he is not ‘obsessed’ with the idea as Djokovic is.
“I have lost weight, but I’ve never been obsessed with this subject as he is”. He said.
“I eat everything, and of course, I try to eat healthy and nutritious stuff, but I have problems with gluten or something else. I eat normally, try to be healthy, but I’m not obsessed”.
Elsewhere Troicki has spoken about his brief ban from the sport. The Serbian was originally banned for 18 months for refusing to provide a blood sample. Troicki argued that he didn’t provide a sample because he felt unwell and had a fear of needles. The 18-month sentence was reduced to 12 months after the Court of Arbitration for Sport found that he was at ‘no significant fault’ and there was no evidence that he intentionally wanted to invade the test. Despite the scandal leaving a bad mark on his career, Troicki told Bulgarian media that it has motivated him.
“Tennis, my love of the sport. Since childhood, I love tennis and I want to prove to the world that the punishment was a terrible decision to me. What happened was unfair and I want to prove that I can come back even stronger and do what I love”. The 29-year-old said.
Troicki has made a strong start to this year by defending his Brisbane International title before reaching the third round of the Australian Open, losing to Milos Raonic. This week he has reached his 9th ATP Final at the Sofia Open in Bulgaria.
