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‘You Got To Hope Novak Is Gone’- Lindsay Davenport Minces No Words To Take A Sneaky Jibe At American Tennis Stars

Published 01/15/2024, 9:52 AM EST

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Discipline has always been the bridge between goals and accomplishments. And there is no bigger example of what discipline can bring to your career, than the 24 Grand Slam titles holder- Novak Djokovic. There aren’t many players in the current era who show this amount of dedication and determination towards the sport.

Recently, former tennis player Lindsay Davenport appeared on Tennis Channel and reflected a bit of the current scenario in American tennis by taking a jibe at the players for their lack of discipline.

Davenport refers to unusual habits of American tennis players, dragging in Novak Djokovic too

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Novak Djokovic had a troublesome start to his career and had faced several injuries. But those are in the past now. He is now one of the fittest players in the men’s circuit and to remind you he’s only 36! He had to seek a nutritionist and follow a properly balanced diet to reach where he is today.

Davenport was recently asked about how many players she thinks have a nutritionist on their team. To this, the former number one replied, ‘I think some are used them to learn what’s the best thing to do. I don’t think you are ever going to see in Novak’s repertoire fast food, which we talk about a lot with some Americans. Video games, right? I mean let’s go down the list there.’

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Novak Djokovic even once had the chance to do a video game endorsement, but he passed that opportunity. Adding to this Davenport said, ‘And that’s exactly what I’m saying about the discipline. It’s areas you know. And so then we’re talking about, okay when the next great American champion coming. You got to hope Novak is gone. Because he’s like spending every single minute how I’m going to get better tomorrow.’

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Per Davenport, the Americans could use some tips from the Serb then!

Taking a deeper dive into American men’s tennis

It has been more than two decades since an American man last won a Grand Slam title. Andy Roddick did it in the US Open in 2003 but since then there hasn’t been any major success from the men’s side. But if we look back at history, American players had held the top spot in men’s tennis for almost 56% of the time in the first 30 years of the ATP ranking system. What is happening now?

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Although there are quite a few names of Americans currently enlisted in the top rising stars in the tennis world, they are unable to make their presence felt at major events. And, on top of that their inclination towards embracing the virtual world and taking it as a go-to relaxation method has raised the eyebrows of several like Davenport. Many of the American tennis players are avid gamers and some of them are also now E-sports investors. Do you think video games play a major role in hampering the focus and discipline of an athlete’s life?

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Written by:

Sayantan Roy

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Tennis has been my passion since my childhood. My sheer love and enthusiasm for the racket sport has been a major influence in me wanting to build a career in sports journalism. Additionally, being a die-hard Real Madrid fan makes me more connected to my tennis idol-Rafael Nadal, who himself is a huge Los Blancos fan and a contender to become its next President.
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Edited by:

Arunima Bhanot