Novak Djokovic’s stay in Saudi Arabia continued beyond The Six Kings Slam, an exhibition tournament held in Riyadh that offered participants the richest prize money ever. The Serbian legend was also a protagonist off the court, taking part in a quiz in which the former ATP number 1 challenged Brazilian soccer star Neymar, currently signed to Al Hilal, a team in the Roshn Saudi League.
In the fun video published on Al Hilal’s social media channels, Djokovic wore the Rihad club’s scarf and gave life, together with the Brazilian ace, to a hilarious challenge, with smiles and hugs, both demonstrating an excellent knowledge of each other’s achievements. A rather demanding challenge for the two stars, called upon to answer some questions relating to the challenger’s career. The South American striker correctly answered questions about Nole’s hometown, the number of Slams and Olympic medals he has won and his biggest rivals, while when asked about the major in which the Serbian has won more than once (Australian Open in Melbourne), his answer was Sydney, amidst Nole’s laughter.
“I feel a lot of pressure,” joked Djokovic when it was time to answer. The Serbian did well anyway, recalling the number of Champions Leagues won by Neymar, the jerseys he wore in his career, the matches he played before turning professional and the number of goals he scored with his national team. A challenge between two sports stars that entertained the protagonists and users on social media. A moment of off-court fun for the Serbian champion, who in recent days announced his withdrawal from the last ATP Masters 1000 of the year, in Paris-Bercy, a tournament in which he was defending the title he won last year. The Serbian is also in doubt for the ATP Finals in Turin, with his tennis season therefore possibly already over early.
The two sports stars challenged each other with a series of questions about each other’s careers
As just mentioned, in fact, Djokovic will not participate in the Paris Rolex Masters. The news was released a few days ago, but the Serbian champion – after officially canceling himself from the French event – wanted to write a message to his fans opening up to the possibility of playing the tournament next year. A choice that sends a clear signal in view of this end of the season. Regardless of what the Race to Turin will say, the Serbian champion could in fact skip the Nitto ATP Finals even in the case – still very likely – in which he qualifies. Djokovic is currently 6th in the Race and his direct rivals are not, at least so far, obtaining great results and convincing. Casper Ruud, for example, left Basel immediately.
Through a story published on his Instagram account, Djokovic recalled the historic victories achieved in the tournament and wrote: “Unfortunately, I will not be playing the Rolex Paris Masters this year. I apologize to everyone who was hoping to see me play there. I wish all the players, sponsors, organizers and fans a great tournament. I have so many great memories after winning the title seven times and I hope to return next year.”
However, the news had already leaked a few days ago. Sportklub had already revealed that Nole had decided not to participate in the French tournament, thus losing the 1000 points earned last year. At the same time, it should be reiterated that the 24-time Grand Slam champion has repeatedly stressed that the ranking no longer matters to him and that the tennis player has other priorities. The Serbian tennis player has decided to skip the French tournament and focus directly on finishing the season in the best possible way, as confirmed by Serbian journalist Sasà Ozmo. So everything is confirmed, Paris Bercy will not have the reigning champion and Nole will try to finish the season in Turin where he will most likely be among the 8 candidates for the final victory of the tournament.
In the meantime, Djokovic, a few days ago at the Six Kings Slam, had spent nice words for his rival Rafael Nadal, at the end of his career: “I thank those who organized this event, it was an extraordinary experience. Thank you for inviting us, we played in front of a great crowd. Thank you for the respect and support you gave us. Rafa, I don’t know where to start. I go back to the first match I played against you in Paris in 2006. Who would have said that after 20 years we would still be here. You are an incredible athlete and person, I respect you a lot.”
