World No.1 Novak Djokovic is making a comeback from his shoulder injury at the Japan Open 2019. Making a debut in Tokyo, the top seed enjoyed the country’s culture as he visited a facility named Ryogoku Edo-Noren on Monday that features restaurants and a sumo wrestling ring.
Novak Djokovic not only watched the sumo wrestlers during their morning practice but also stepped up on the ring to learn some sumo techniques against the retired professional sumo wrestlers.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“It’s a great experience. I’ve never had this experience before. It’s one of the most popular sports in Japan,” Djokovic said. “Speaking with my father yesterday on the phone I was telling him that I’m going to have an opportunity to meet sumo wrestlers. He and I were remembering many years ago at home when we used to watch Akebono, who was someone that we supported a lot.”
Just too good 😂
Well played, @DjokerNole 👏 #NovakGoesSumo 💪 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/FE75NjoQl7
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 30, 2019
The world No.1 was wonderstruck with the sumo wrestlers and even tried hard to budge them while playing with them but failed to do so. The wrestlers also taught the Serb Seiko and Suri-ashi among other sumo moves.
“I felt that I am out of shape for sumo a little bit. I think with a few more kilos, I’ll be ready to compete,” Novak Djokovic joked. “Probably three times as much as I have right now would be the right measurement for me to compete.”
Ready? Play. 😂 @DjokerNole | @rakutenopen pic.twitter.com/Rxe0daarnA
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 30, 2019
The 16-time Grand Slam champion was awestruck with the flexibility of the sumo wrestlers as he paid great respect to the professionals, taking in their technique and power on the dohyo – sumo wrestling ring.
Great technique, @DjokerNole! 🤣#NovakGoesSumo 💪 🇯🇵@rakutenopen pic.twitter.com/oVIqlw4nW5
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 30, 2019
“It’s quite impressive to see also how flexible they are. I believe at the beginning they were demonstrating their flexibility,” Djokovic concluded. “I didn’t think that they were that flexible considering it’s a heavyweight sport, but I see that they are paying a lot of attention to the mobility of their joints and the flexibility, which is of course what allows them to move around as agile as possible at their weight.”
The 32-year-old will begin his 2019 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships campaign against Australia’s Alexei Popyrin in the round of 32 on Tuesday.
