Danka Kovinic speaks about her 2021 goals & her 'meeting' with Novak Djokovic, calls Roger Federer & Serena Williams the GOATs
Danka Kovinic, the 26-year-old Montenegrin player currently ranked No. 77 in the world, has registered a number of firsts for women's tennis in her country.
In 2013, Kovinic became the first Montenegrin player to reach a WTA level quarterfinal. She has since gone on to better that, also becoming the first from her country to reach a WTA semifinal and a WTA final.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Danka Kovinic spoke about her experience of the quarantine conditions in Melbourne and her goals for the upcoming season. She further revealed that she considers Roger Federer and Serena Williams as the ‘Greatest of All Time’ (GOAT) in men's and women's tennis respectively, but that she grew up idolizing another former World No. 1 - Jelena Jankovic.
Danka Kovinic also set the record straight on her 'supposed encounter' with World No. 1 Novak Djokovic at the Rio Olympics. Here are the excerpts from the interview:
Sportskeeda: You are among those who are allowed to go out of the hotel room for up to five hours a day in Melbourne. Can you tell us a little more about your experience of the quarantine in Melbourne so far?
Danka Kovinic: Yeah, I was lucky there wasn’t any positive case on my flight from Abu Dhabi. To be honest, since the moment we have arrived, everything has been organized well. Unfortunately, some confusion came along with the positive cases, but that lasted for two or three days. After that everything has been working out pretty well.
SK: What is your opinion on the top players getting quarantined in Adelaide as opposed to Melbourne? There have reportedly been some differences in the two cities, such as players in Adelaide being allowed more support staff and being permitted to practice with more than one member of their team. What do you think about that?
DK: I don’t know what is the real reason why they are quarantined in Adelaide. Also, I don’t know what the exact conditions for them are over there. I think it's okay for top players to have better or bigger accommodation, but not better practice conditions or different, less strict rules during quarantine.
SK: Several players have complained about the quarantine conditions in Melbourne, during what has been a very sensitive time for the Melbourne public. Can you share with us your thoughts on that?
DK: I saw players had a lot of issues and complaints, mostly by the players who are under hard quarantine, which is reasonable. But some went a bit too far on social media.
I’m quarantined at the Hyatt, and the only thing that is not at the level it should be, is the food. We have to be aware that Australians were in hard lockdown a few months ago and despite that, we were able to come to Melbourne. So while we’re here, we have to respect their rules, for their and our health.
SK: It was reported recently that you had an interesting run-in with Novak Djokovic at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Is that story true, and if so, can you tell us a little more about the meeting with Djokovic?
DK: I am glad you asked this question. The truth is I have never met Novak Djokovic at the Rio Olympics. It was my coach (who met him). So as my coach had told me, Novak Djokovic asked him to exchange the shirts, to which he replied 'I’ll give it to you once Games are over'. But Serbian tabloids didn’t find this very interesting, so they wrote it was me instead of my coach. And there’s been a few headlines around, asking how could I say NO to Novak Djokovic.
SK: What do you think about Novak Djokovic's letter to Tennis Australia asking for changes in the Melbourne quarantine conditions? Do you feel he gets criticized too much by the media?
DK: Yes, definitely, it was too much. I think there was nothing wrong from him by asking for some improvements for those in hard quarantine.
Again, there was too much going on, players were putting pressure on social media and I guess his letter was just misunderstood by the public in Australia. If I had sent that letter no one would care about it, but he is Novak Djokovic and his word is much stronger then ours.
SK: What are your own expectations from the 2021 season, assuming a full calendar is played out? What are some of the areas that you are focusing on to achieve those goals?
DK: My main goal in 2021 is to get beck to the top 50, where I was a few years ago. Currently, I am ranked 77th. Hopefully, we will play a full season so I hope I’ll have time to prove I belong there. During the off-season, I was working a lot on my return game, so I expect to see improvement in that area once the Australian Open begins.
SK: Who are your favorite players on the men's and women's tours?
DK: If the question is about my favorite to chat, to go out for a dinner, there are very few. The players that I like spending time with are Dalila Jakupovic, Jasmine Paolini, Bernarda Pera and Kristina Mladenovic.
SK: Who in your opinion is the Greatest Player of All Time in men's tennis and women's tennis?
DK: In the men's game, it is Roger Federer definitely; he is a tennis legend. In the women's, I have to say it's Serena Williams.
SK: Have you modelled your game on any particular player while growing up?
DK: My favorite while growing up was Jelena Jankovic. Jelena was the one I really admired when I was a little. I was following all her matches, all her outfits of course (smiling). And I tried to copy her backhand down the line. She was my idol, and I was lucky to meet her, to play with her, and after few years on WTA tour to call her my friend.