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Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning his group stage match against Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs
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Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning his group stage match against Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs
Fans of almost every sport became really emotional after the death of football legend Diego Maradona. The Argentine received the ‘Player of the Century’ award along with Brazilian legend Pele. His death was something that football fans perceived as a personal loss. The World No. 1 Novak Djokovic also expressed his grief on Maradona’s passing.
“Rest in paradise legend #Maradona,” wrote an emotional Djokovic on Twitter
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Rest in paradise legend ❤️ #maradona pic.twitter.com/5QPMgKsMXe
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) November 26, 2020
Djokovic was clearly quite upset with the sudden death of the Argentine. However, the Serbian writing ‘Paradise’ instead of ‘Peace’ revealed the kind of respect he had for the former Napoli star. He is clearly of the belief that a player as good as Maradona would only rest in heaven. The picture he shared of him with Maradona showed the great bond between the two.
Those who knew Maradona were also aware of his love for tennis. One could see the legend cheering for his team during the Davis Cup with immense enthusiasm. He had personal photographs with most tennis players, including Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Read More: Juan Martin Del Potro, Rafael Nadal, and others express condolences on Diego Maradona’s demise
When Novak Djokovic met Diego Maradona for the first time
Some of the younger players weren’t even around when Maradona single-handedly won the World Cup for his country in 1986. The ones that were there were very young and ended up making Maradona their idol after that victory. Novak Djokovic was one of these.
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Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in action during his group stage match against Germany’s Alexander Zverev Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs
The Serbian first met Maradona at the ATP Finals 2018 in London and described the incident. “Just to have him as support was incredible honor and pleasure,” said Djoker. “After many years, we exchanged some gifts, shirts, and racquets, but never met in person. That was the first time.”
Although Djokovic lost to Alexander Zverev in the finals of the 2018 tournament, he definitely accomplished one of his dreams when he met Maradona.
Maradona’s demise is a big loss not only for football but for the entire sports fraternity. Fans believe that no footballer could ever have a greater first touch than him.
