Despite his lighter side, Novak Djokovic has proven himself as a serious competitor. He does not shy away from showing his emotion on the court and off of it.
And so after last month's surprising loss to underdog Juan Martin del Potro in the bronze-medal match at the Olympics, Djokovic was understandably crushed. A recent interview with Vlade Divac, the former NBA star and current head of the Serbian Olympic Committee, revealed just how disappointed Djokovic was.
According to dropshotdispatch.com, which translated an interview with Divac from the website Vesti-Online.com, Divac said that after the third-place match, Djokovic was so upset that he tore up his racquets with a saw.
"I never saw anyone have such energy to fight for a medal for Serbia. It is contagious," Divac said. "After the match I came to [Djokovic]. You know what he was doing? He was so miserable, he was cutting up his racquets with a saw. That is not someone who doesn’t care about the result. His main goals were Roland Garros and the Olympic Games. He said, 'Vlade, I’m sorry.' I told him, ‘You don’t have to apologize for anything, you’re a champion and always will be.'"
For what it's worth, Djokovic got his revenge on del Potro, defeating the Argentine in straight sets this week at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.
(H/T to Deadspin)
