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Argentine tennis star Francisco Cerundolo does not agree that Novak Djokovic should be perceived as a tennis villain. Over the last two years, Djokovic has received lots of criticism for his vaccine stance. Djokovic has heard all of the criticism as he has been adamantly saying that he is not anti-vaccine and that he is not trying to help the anti-vax propaganda.
“I don't see [Novak] Djokovic as a villain. Quite the contrary. What happens is that people are very much in love with [Roger] Federer and [Rafael] Nadal. Novak says what he feels, he is authentic,” Cerundolo said on the 3iguales podcast.
En el episodio #133 de @tresigualesok nuestro invitado @FranCerundolo habla de @DjokerNole
“No veo como un villano a Djokovic. Todo lo contrario. Lo que pasa es que la gente está muy enamorada de Federer y Nadal.Novak dice lo que siente, es auténtico” pic.twitter.com/iQOufv8na2 — 3iguales | Podcast de Tenis (@tresigualesok) August 5, 2022
Cerundolo on meeting Djokovic for the first time
Over a year ago at the Serbia Open in Belgrade, Cerundolo met Djokovic for the first time.
In the early March of 2021, Cerundolo reached his first ATP final as a qualifier in Buenos Aires A month and a half later, Cerundolo went to Belgrade for the Serbia Open. There he met Djokovic, who congratulated him on his Buenos AIres run.
Cerundolo was stunned after realizing Djokovic was aware of his Buenos Aires run. “I had just made the final here in Buenos Aires and went to Belgrade to play the qualies. Djokovic came to me, to say hello to me. I was ranked 110 or 120, and Djokovic came to me, introduced himself and congratulated me for my Buenos Aires final.
[He congratulated me] for everything that I had won. He knew everything. At least [he] knows everything, I don’t know about the others. He even asked about my brother, and I said to myself, 'Wow! This guy is No. 1 in the world, and yet he knows everything,'" Cerundolo told ESPN Tennis.
Meanwhile, Cerundolo has been playing the tennis of his life over the last few weeks. After winning his maiden ATP title in Bastad and breaking into the top-25, Cerundolo is set to start his summer on hard at the Montreal Masters. Cerundolo plays Karen Khachanov in the Montreal first round.