Thousands of tennis fans watched Novak Djokovic return to action at Wimbledon on Tuesday but not many had as good of a view of the Serbian in action as Ronnie O’Sullivan.
The snooker player was sitting in Djokovic’s player box on Center Court alongside his team. It might seem like a peculiar situation. However, the tennis star is a long-time fan of O’Sullivan.
“I watch snooker just because of him. I watched him when I was a kid and I watched him play many years ago.” Djokovic told reporters following his first round win.
“My father loved watching snooker. I only watched Ronnie. Whenever he would not play, I would not watch. We just had a meet-up, an interaction for the first time. It was great.”
The 48-year-old is regarded as one of the most high-profile figures in his sport. His accolades includes seven world championship titles. Overall, he has won 41 titles over 31 years (1993-2024).
“Hopefully we’re able to play some snooker ’cause I’m really bad at snooker. I’m okay at pool or billiard, but snooker, I tried it twice, and it’s really, really tough.” Djokovic joked.
“He’s a nice person, nice guy, and very funny.”
Djokovic, who is seeking a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title, is high in spirits following his straight-sets triumph over Vit Kopriva. Coming into the match concerns were raised about his fitness due to recent knee surgery. However, the 24-time major champion appeared to be in little trouble and moved about freely.
“I didn’t know how I was going to feel on the court and how my knee was going to hold up. But I’m very happy with the way I felt, the way I played and the way I moved. For an opening match, I couldn’t ask for a better start.”
However, there is bad news for one of Djokovic’s long-time rivals. Earlier today, Andy Murray was forced to pull out of the singles draw after failing to regain full fitness. The former world No.1 recently underwent back surgery to help solve a problem affecting his right leg. He is still entered to play in the doubles draw.
It is highly expected that 2024 will be Murray’s final appearance at Wimbledon after Brit indicated that this will be the case. However, Djokovic has warned against ruling him out for next year’s tournament.
“Hopefully he can get another shot at next year’s Wimbledon with singles. Knowing him, he’s going to try to do that,” he commented.
“He has every right to say when it’s the finish line for him. If he wants to keep going, no doubt that people will be very happy about it.”
