Novak Djokovic mocks eye problems with patch
This weekend at the 2010 Barclay’s ATP World Tour Finals, World Number 3 Novak Djokovic displayed the amusingly quirky sense of humour, which has earned him the nickname “The Joker” or “Djoker”. Right before his third and last round-robin match against American
tennis player Andy Roddick, the Serbian player showed up on the court with a peculiar accessory on his right eye.
Much to the amusement of spectators, Novak “Nole” Djokovic emerged from the locker room wearing a black novelty eye patch.
Since Halloween passed almost a month ago and the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie isn’t going to be released till May 2011, it’s a safe bet to assume that Novak Djokovic was not playing dress-up or advertising.
His cheeky move was a subtle jab at the last match he played, where World Number 1 Rafael Nadal scored an easy victory over the 2010 US Open finalist by defeating the player with a final score line of 7-5, 6-2.
The match, which was an easy win for Rafa, was one of the most frustrating events of Novak Djokovic’s career. He reportedly suffered eye problems which caused him unease due to a misplaced lens, as well as a foreign object disrupting his ability to see and
perform at his usual level.
While Rafa progressed to the last four players of the ATP World Tour Finals before being beaten by champion Roger Federer in the title match, the Serbian was left to lament the unfortunate occurrence due to which he lost the match.
This occurrence was also a sufficient source of annoyance for Rafa, who waited patiently for many minutes, but flared up when the umpire told him he was taking too long before serves.
Djokovic said to reporters after the match, “Playing with one eye, especially against Nadal, is not enough. [...] I feel sick even talking about it to be honest. It's just incredible that this happened to me because it never happened in my life. I was feeling
great”.
This statement is completely justified because Djokovic began the match in the best form, matching his Spanish opponent serve for serve and volley to volley. However, it went downhill in the second set when something lodged itself into Djokovic’s eye to
give him trouble with vision. The eye problem caused irritation, making Nole struggle all through the second set enabling Rafa to seal an easy win.
Although, Novak Djokovic lost the match, he had both the good sense of humour and the sportsmanship to mock his previous ocular problems right before playing his third match of the tournament.
He wore the eye patch during his entry on the court and gave it away to a young child before he began warming up. While unorthodox, it was certainly an entertaining move and shows that Djokovic has accepted his loss.
This was even more evident during the actual match with Andy Roddick, America’s Number 1, when Djokovic crushed the player in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 to win two of his three round robin matches and make himself one of the last four, losing the next match
to eventual champion Roger Federer.
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