I dislike Novak Djokovic, none of the statements he's made in the last 2 years have been right: Adriano Panatta
Former Italian pro Adriano Panatta recently gave his thoughts on Wimbledon's decision to bar Russian and Belarusian players from competing at the All England Club later this year, while also commenting on each of the Big 3.
In an interview with Rai Radio 1, the former World No. 4 revealed that he doesn't watch tennis a lot, but does like following Roger Federer from time to time. He believes the Swiss continues to be the leading face of tennis.
Panatta also went on to express his admiration for 21-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, before criticizing World No. 1 Novak Djokovic. Panatta said he disapproved of the Serb's controversial statements over the past couple of years, including those on vaccination.
"I am following someone like Federer, who was and always will be tennis," Panatta said. "Nadal? I enjoy watching his matches and above all, I admire him from a human point of view“ Djokovic? Nothing personal but I dislike him, I'm a bit unpleasant with all the statements he made in the last two years. He hasn't got one right."
After faltering in the second round of Monte-Carlo last week, Djokovic is currently in the semifinals of the 2022 Serbia Open. The top seed will take on Karen Khachanov on Saturday.
Djokovic gathering serious strength, missing seldom and hitting the lines on demand.
Defeats Kecmanovic, one of the in-form players of 2022
4-6, 6-3, 6-3
Another 3-setter but this one was very different than his performance against Djere on Wednesday
Watch out
#tennistv https://t.co/bLrk9WGVLE
Panatta, who won Roland Garros in 1976, proceeded to talk about the current state of Italian tennis. He described Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner as "strong" and "modern" players, but admitted that he keeps tabs on their progress only for patriotism's sake.
"They are both very strong and modern, although very different from each other," the 71-year-old said of Berrettini and Sinner. "What if today's tennis bores me? Absolutely yes, now I look at Italians for patriotism, so to speak."
"Russian tennis players excluded from Wimbledon? I find it stupid" - Adriano Panatta
Statement regarding Russian and Belarusian individuals at The Championships 2022.
Wimbledon became the first tournament to ban players representing Russia and Belarus amid the two countries' aggression against Ukraine.
During the interview, Adriano Pannatta criticized the decision, describing it as "stupid," before citing the example of Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev who have publicly condemned the war.
"Russian tennis players excluded from Wimbledon? I find it stupid, bulls**t, if I can use that term," Adriano Panatta said. "Among other things, Medvedev and Rublev seem to have already disagreed with what their country is doing, they are two people who are professional tennis players. Should a Russian engineer living in London then no longer have to work? This is stupid and total hypocrisy."
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@AndreyRublev97 https://t.co/Ul9Hg8SRvS