From one legend to another, the two exchanged gifts: an autographed Al Nassr shirt for the Serbian, a polo shirt and a dedicated racket for CR7. “He inspires me”, said Nole some time ago, who in the meantime will miss the French 1000
“For Cris, Siuuuuu”. From a legend to a legend: Novak Djokovic meets Cristiano Ronaldo at the Lisboa Racket Center and the gifts run away. A racket with a dedication for the Portuguese, an Al Nassr shirt with an autograph attached for the Serbian. Nole also brought with him one of his sponsored t-shirts, dyed the red with which he wore most of his Slam victories. The same color with which Cristiano won everything with Manchester United and a European Championship with the Portuguese national team.
Christian model
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In Djokovic’s agenda, the meeting with Cr7 was an unmissable event: “He inspires me, even at 40 he is still strong, like LeBron James” the Serbian said of him some time ago in Riyadh, “I want to continue like them: longevity is one of my greatest motivations”. And again, on Kyrgios’ podcast, Djokovic declared: “Cristiano is willing, day by day, to bring his body, mind, character and emotions to a different level. To be a better version of himself day after day: thus he overcomes the boundaries that everyone else imposes”. Coming from a legend like the Serbian, who won 100 titles in his career, including 24 Slams, it is worth double if not triple.
similarities
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Nole and Cristiano actually look alike. Both placed success at the top of their priorities, reminding themselves, rather than the trophies brought home, of the objectives still to be achieved: the thousandth goal for Ronaldo, to be achieved perhaps with help during the next World Cup (which will actually be the sixth of his career), the twenty-fifth Slam for Novak who would thus surpass Margaret Court by becoming, alone, the greatest Major winner of every era, considering both circuits. Who knows, in the meeting in Lisbon, between Djokovic and Ronaldo, these goals were also discussed, as well as, perhaps, some business proposals in the club.
no Paris
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In the meantime, on the Serbian’s agenda, there is (and circled in red, one might say) the commitment scheduled between November 2nd and 8th: this is the 250-point tournament that historically belonged to Belgrade, but which from this year will “move” to Athens. Nole is on the entry list, and with him (among others) Khachanov, Lehecka, Mensik, Tsitsipas and Darderi. The following week the ATP Finals will start in Turin, but it still remains to be seen whether Djokovic (the third mathematically qualified for now, after the cannibals Sinner and Alcaraz) will actually take part. However, his withdrawal from the last Masters 1000 at the end of the year, the one in Paris, is official: “I hope to return next year” he said. We’ll see.
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