Novak Djokovic offered support to his good friend Alexander Zverev, who opened up about his mental health struggles after his Wimbledon exit.
Artur Rinderknech pulled off an upset at Wimbledon, eliminating third-seed Alexander Zverev.
The German player revealed that, in addition to managing diabetes since childhood, he has been dealing with mental health challenges for the past six months. He stated that he has been feeling isolated and unable to find joy in anything, which has clearly impacted his performance.
What Djokovic said
Following his advancement to the third round, Novak Djokovic addressed reporters, via Sportal, about his good friend’s situation.
“Sascha and I have a great relationship, I love him, we talk often about tennis and other things in life. We talked after practice about some technical aspects of his game.
“He knows he can always reach out to me. I understand him, I understand exactly what he’s going through because I’ve been there many times myself. You feel less happy, like you’re empty, you can’t do what you want… It’s all part of the process, you can’t always feel good.
“He’s played a lot this season, maybe he’s played too many tournaments, maybe he needs to rest and refresh a bit. But he and his team know best.
“I sympathize with him, mental health is something that wasn’t talked about enough before, and I commend players who have the courage to talk about it. I wish him all the best, and let him know that I’m there for him.”, said Djokovic.
The world number one will face fellow Serbian Miomir Kecmanovi膰 in the next round. The match is scheduled for Saturday, with the exact time to be determined later.