Novak Djokovic confessed he gave himself a pep talk in the mirror when his third-round US Open opponent Laslo Djere took an unexpected two-set lead.
Djokovic revealed it in the on-court interview and said: “Actually I did. And I’m not lying. I did a pep talk in the mirror and kind of laughed at myself because I was so pissed off, annoyed, and agitated with the result, but I had to force myself to lift myself up, to lift the spirits up a little bit.”
He further admitted that he had done this a few times before and said: “I’ve done it a few times in my career. It worked. A few times it didn’t work, but tonight it did and I’m grateful.”
Djokovic also gave himself a motivational talk when he led Jannik Sinner by two sets in their 2022 Wimbledon final match.
Djokovic discussed the importance of pep talks in his career and stated: “That is probably even more important in individual sports. There is a saying in English that goes ‘fake it till you make it’. When I looked at myself in the mirror saying those things, it did seem unnatural, but I knew that those words have their own strength and vibration and that they can pay off.”
Novak Djokovic had a talk with himself in the mirror when he was down 2 sets to 0 against Djere:
“Actually I did. And I’m not lying. 😂 I did a pep talk in the mirror & kind of laughed at myself bc I was so agitated.. I had to force myself to lift myself up” pic.twitter.com/9MPEBMNNp1
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 2, 2023
Djokovic at the U.S. Open, ranking, and results in 2023
LWWWWWWLWW Now ranked no.2, the Serbian achieved an overall 41-5 win-loss record in 2023. Novak is participating at the U.S. Open where he managed to beat the world no.84 Alexandre Muller 6-0 6-2 6-3, the world no.76 Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-4 6-1 6-1 and the world no.38 Laslo Djere 4-6 4-6 6-1 6-1 6-3.
Novak Djokovic will fight against the world no.105 Borna Gojo in the 4th round. In the past, they have never played each other so far in top events.
The Serbian clinched 4 titles in 2023 in Adelaide, Australian Open, French Open and Cincinnati. Novak reached the final in Wimbledon.
The Serbian won 95 titles in his career: 51 on hard courts, 19 on clay courts, 17 on indoor courts and 8 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Laslo Djere in 2023
LWWWLLLWWW At the moment ranked no.38, Laslo played his last match on the 1st of September when he lost to world no.2 Novak Djokovic 4-6 4-6 6-1 6-1 6-3 in the 3rd round of the U.S. Open (draw).
Currently, during this year Djere has achieved a composed 33-23 record. Laslo Djere’s most significant result of the current year was getting to the final in the Cagliari Challenger and Hamburg.
Novak Djokovic and Laslo Djere squared off only twice. Their head to head is 2-0 for Djokovic. Previously, the last time they fought against each other, Novak Djokovic won 4-6 4-6 6-1 6-1 6-3 in the 3rd round in New York (U.S. Open) on the 1st of September 2023.
Novak Djokovic and Laslo Djere |
| Embed from Getty Images |
