French veteran Gilles Simon slammed the media for unfair treatment of Djokovic when compared to somebody like a Roger Federer.
Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic (L) talks to his wife Jelena during a match at the Adria Tour, Novak Djokovic's Balkans charity tennis tournament in Belgrade on June 14, 2020. - Novak Djokovic has also tested positive for coronavirus on June 23, 2020 along with Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki, after taking part in an exhibition tennis tournament in the Balkans featuring world number one Novak Djokovic, raising questions over the sport's planned return in August. (Photo by Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP)
World number 1 tennis great Novak Djokovic has returned to training after recovering from the dreaded COVID-19.
The head coach at the Novak Tennis Centre in Belgrade, Boris Bosnjakovic, had posted pictures on his Instagram handle of the Djokovic indulged his routine practice schedule along with compatriot Filip Krajinovic.
Djokovic himself tested positive for the infection along with several other players during his Adria World Tour. Although he apologised for the lack of social distancing measures in the tournament, he was criticised. However, a lot of players came to his support too.
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French veteran Gilles Simon slammed the media for unfair treatment of Djokovic when compared to somebody like a Roger Federer.
“I knew Roger would step up to the plate when there were discussions on the prize money of the Grand Slams a while ago,” he told L’Equipe.
“But the impression I have is that we lost him on the way, that the representation of the players does not matter to him. If there is a voice that carries, it is his.
“I see Djokovic like any human being, with his strengths and flaws. But with Roger Federer, we only talk about his strengths. With Novak we talk only about his flaws. It would annoy everyone if Djokovic breaks Federer’s records. It angers people that he (Djokovic) is so strong.
“It can also be seen in the crowd, on the court, in the Australian Open final. The anger against Novak is a huge mistake. Much of the public doesn’t consider him as (important as) Roger or Rafa (Nadal).”
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