Weekside: A weekly section by Ehrle Weisberg

Novak Djokovic to Walla!

Sport: "I would like my opponents to come to say goodbye to me too"

The wheelchair tennis game he has with an IDF soldier ("He is a hero for me"). The trips to Old Jaffa and the beach ("I will come back as a tourist"). Roger Federer's retirement. And the concern about the situation of Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Euroleague. Special: The new Watergen Tournament champion wraps up an inspiring week

Ehrle Weisberg

03/10/2022

Monday, 03 October 2022, 11:00

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Novak Djokovic in an interview after winning the Tel Aviv tournament (video editing: Tal Reznik, Nir Chen, video photography: Danny Maron)

When Roger Federer retired, Rafael Nadal cried.

When June Ehrlich retired, you almost cried.

Who will cry when you retire?

I asked the recent winner of the Watergen tournament in Tel Aviv, Novak Djokovic.

"My mother will surely cry," laughs Nola in an interview with Walla!

sport.

"I'm not close to retirement, and I don't want to think about it too much. Roger had a beautiful retirement at the Liverpool Cup in London. We were all there, with his family of course, to say goodbye to him in such a magnificent stadium and at such a big event. It must have been special For him, and there is no doubt that he deserved it. One thing I know I will want for sure - that my great rivals will come to say goodbye to me as well."

It is doubtful whether the title in Israel will be filed as one of the biggest among the 89 won by the Serbian superstar so far in his career.

But there was something magnetic about his visit to the country, and not only because of the pretzels around his head with every step and every breath;

His connection to the audience was natural and intriguing, and so was Djokovic

"He is a hero in my eyes, a source of inspiration."

Djokovic with Aili Hayut (Photo: Courtesy of those photographed)

"I didn't have many opportunities to walk in the city, but every day I went down to the beach and stayed there for at least an hour," he says.

"I walked around, ran, rode a bike, swam. I also went for a walk in the old city of Jaffa, and I saw a bit of history. A long time ago I was also in Jerusalem. I know the country a little, and I will surely return as a tourist, without a tennis tournament, to experience it more . The people here have treated me in a great way this past week, and I want to thank them. I cherish that and am grateful for the relationships I have established with the citizens in Tel Aviv."

Indeed, the Israeli audience wanted to see the giant star win before their eyes.

Unusual things were noted all around;

plastic-free drinking stations were placed at the stations placed in the corridors of the expo complex, and water was distributed free of charge to the spectators;

Djokovic's loudest fans waved the Serbian flag, but generally wore Croatia national team shirts;

And the winner himself opened the winning speech with "Hello, what's up?"

In Hebrew.

Nola left no chance for his opponents on the way to the title.

In 72 hours he won four games without dropping a set, and his friend and opponent in the final, the Croatian Marin Cilic, was also left frustrated (though not really surprised).

"We train together quite a bit, and we trained this week as well, and it's always difficult against him," he said with a bitter smile, referring to the one who beat him in 19 of the 21 meetings between them.

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"My mother will surely cry when I retire."

Novak Djokovic in an interview with Walla!

Sports (Photo: Danny Maron)

At the weekend, Djokovic had one more special and exciting match, away from the eyes of the cameras and spectators.

After meeting by chance Ili Hayut, a Magellan unit fighter who was injured during his military service, he offered him to play together.

"Beyond the fact that he is a huge athlete, he is also a rare person," said Hayut.

"Novak asked if we had another wheelchair and asked me to bring him one. He sat on it and that's how we played tennis, with each of us sitting on a different side of the court: me, and the number 1 tennis player in the world. He asked me about the Paralympic sport in Israel, was very interested in me and my friends in the sport and told How much he enjoyed himself here. In the evening I asked myself if it was a dream, if everything I went through in those two days really happened."

"I have already played in wheelchairs in Australia and the USA, and now I also met with the Israeli star," Djokovic shares the experience from his point of view.

These people are a source of inspiration for me.

You understand and learn to appreciate what they do only when you get into the wheelchair yourself and sit on it.

That's why I wanted to do it.

He lent me one chair, and he played with me... because I don't know how to control the wheels.

He is a hero in my eyes."

Before leaving Tel Aviv on his way to his next stop in Kazakhstan, Djokovic freed himself up for short interviews with journalists from several countries. Each of us was allotted only two questions, but at the beginning of the conversation I made it clear that I would go for two for one and I managed to squeeze in a third question as well. Nola, an avid basketball fan who never misses a Red Star Belgrade game when he's in town, immediately understood the hint and smiled. "So what are Maccabi's chances this season in the Euroleague?"

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