Gustavo Kuerten beats Novak Djokovic in an exhibition match in Brazil – Tennis News
Former world number one from Brazil, Gustavo Kuerten, stunned the current top ranked player, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, in straight sets 7-6(9), 7-5 in an exhibition match. It was held on the clay courts of Maracanazinho Arena in
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Djokovic was in Brazil on the invitation of Kuerten on the occasion of opening of a public tennis court in the unprivileged area of Rocinha in Rio de Janeiro.
The Serbian, who defeated one of the best tennis players of all time, Roger Federer, in the title match of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals just few days back, looked in a mood to enjoy the time instead of fighting for victory.
He danced during the match and intimidated Kuerten by wearing a curly hair wig.
Giving an interview to the news reporters at the end of the match, Djokovic praised Kuerten and shared that he would love to comeback to Brazil in the future.
The Serbian said, “Guga is one of the most charismatic and loved players of this game and tonight he showed why. I hope you understand how much this means to me. I’ll come back to Brazil for sure.”
Kuerten was the King of Clay before during the late 90s and start of 2000s. The Brazilian player was considered to be unbeatable at the French Open by many tennis followers like Nadal is today. The right-hander captured the Roland
Garros crown three times but then injuries started to disturb his career.
The 36-year-old also entertained the crowd, drawing a heart on the clay surface of the tennis court like he did after winning his latest French Open title in 2001.
Kuerten shared that his victory over Djokovic in this exhibition match was not that important but main thing was to have fun and entertain the crowd. Almost 10,000 people watched the former and current best player in tennis.
The Brazilian said, "I'm not going to be able to move for days. The victory is important but the most important thing is to be enjoying this moment with Novak because I thought I would never relive this type of experience after
my injuries."
He added, "I can't thank Novak enough. He is aware of the impact he can make as a person and is a really special guy."
A day later, Kuerten and Djokovic took part in an exhibition football match with others stars and both of them scored goals in it.
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