Looking at the main image, one can be led to take a guess on what’s happening. Maybe a guy who ran out of gas due to oversight and needs to push the car to the closest station. Or worse, he needs to pay a visit to the mechanic. One might think that’s someone who has lost a bet on tennis and is sticking to the agreed.
The person you see in this picture is none other than Novak Djokovic, the top #1 tennis player in the world, and the two people standing and watching him are his coaches. Every single athlete that aims to the top of their sport can relate to this photo.
The context
The Serbian superstar is supposedly in Montenegro taking a few days off. He does not stop training though. Part of his training routine is to push cars in straights and upward slopes to keep his strength up for the upcoming tournaments. He is 36 years old now, and young competitors like Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Stephanos Tsitsipas, Andrei Rublev, and others have explosively powerful strikes in their arsenal, on top of the stamina difference that the age gap brings naturally. Because of that, Novak needs to compensate.
The video uploaded at TikTok shows him pushing various cars, even heavier ones. However, this shows a different story than we can see on the surface. Physical prowess like this one isn’t big news from athletes of the highest level.
The moral of the story
The actual piece of news is that he’s doing this at a time when he’s supposed to rest and recover, and that’s the amazing part! This is the mindset of an athlete who has reached the top of his sport and does whatever it takes to stay there!
Athletes of this level sometimes have their rivals as motivation to keep improving, his two major rivals throughout his career were Roger Federer and Raphael Nadal. Since the first one is all but retired now at the age of 40, and the second has been struck by injuries, it looks like Djokovic had to find new ways to motivate himself.
Recently, he went above the tie that had existed between the three tennis legends, with 20 Grand Slam titles for each one, by winning his 21st at Wimbledon in 2022. This could still be threatened and surpassed by Nadal. The Serbian has always been clear that he wants to be one of those athletes who set long-standing records. For that to happen, he needs to keep up the working hard. By doing that, he sends a message to the younger generations that, if they intend to reach and stay at the top, they must show that same spirit and work ethic.
His main weapon
His personality and the power of his mind have been fueling his natural talents and aptitudes all career long. And these are the pictures that prove the cause of it beyond doubt. At the highest level of sports practice, all the players have a stronger mindset than the average person. But this video and the result Novak has shown up until now, say that he’s willing to take it to a level beyond even the best ones to ever play the game.
It should be no surprise that all of the most reliable bookmakers will keep regarding him as the favorite to win all competitions that he participates in. It’s not that he’ll come out on top always, but every time he shows up to compete, it is the greatest likelihood that he will.