Novak Djokovic gave his fans in Sofia a moment they will never forget as he served up a humorous striptease during his fun exhibition match with local hero Grigor Dimitrov.
Dimitrov played in Djokovic’s controversial Adria Tour event that the Serbian opted to stage at the height of the Covid pandemic.
Unfortunately, that event backfired badly for most of the participants contracted the virus, with Dimitrov badly impacted by the effects.
Djokovic apologised for his error in staging the event and part of the reason why he was in Sofia to play Dimitrov stemmed from that incident back in 2020.
“With Grigor, he came to Serbia to play in the Adria Tour exhibition a few years ago, and then we agreed that I’m going to play with him in Bulgaria when the time arrives and it’s suitable for both of us,” said Djokovic.
“So, now is the time, and I look forward to it. I never played in Bulgaria, and we are obviously culturally very similar nations and people. So, that’s going to be fun.”
It was certainly fun as Djokovic danced with his shirt off and sang to the crowd at the packed-out arena, with tickets for the ‘Tennis Gala’ selling out in double quick time.
Djokovic is also set to play an exhibition match with Juan Martin del Potro in Argentina later this year, in what will be a farewell performance for the legendary South American player.
“Del Potro is retiring from tennis with this exhibition match,” said Djokovic.
“We all know the impact that he has left on tennis in general. He has been one of the most exciting players to watch in the last two decades.
“Plus, the charisma, the character-very lovable guy, very likeable guy. We’ve seen so much support [for him] around the world, and particularly in his home country, Argentina. So, that should be a great event.
“It should be a phenomenal experience to play there and be part of this farewell match.”
Djokovic made it clear after he played for Serbia in the Davis Cup last weekend that he is not planning to play in too many ATP Tour events in what is left of his career.
Instead, we are likely to see him in events that he chooses to play a part in like these exhibition matches with Dimitrov and Del Potro.
“Torino is not my goal at all, to be honest, I am not chasing ATP Finals, I am not chasing the rankings,” he said.
“As far as I am concerned, I am done with those tournaments for my career. Whether I will play in other tournaments this year or in the future, I can’t say right now.
“My main priorities are playing for the national team and Slams, everything else is less important.
“I thought that I would never have to seek motivation anywhere, it all used to come naturally – automatically – but that has not been the case in the last few years.
“In order to prolong my career, I need to enjoy, I need to choose wisely the tournaments I am going to play.
“Usually in my career I used to have my schedule ready six months in advance, but nowadays that’s not the case, now it’s more spontaneous.
“Firstly, I need to physically, emotionally and mentally rest in order to even start thinking what I want to do next, in what way, how much and where.”
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