"He is very attentive and very involved, he also helps the hopefuls financially" - Former ATP player Stephane Robert praises Novak Djokovic for his role in the development of Serbian tennis
Novak Djokovic has received high praise from Stephane Robert for his significant contributions to developing the sport of tennis in Serbia. Robert, a former professional tennis player from France with a career-high singles ranking of World No. 50, currently acts as the trainer for upcoming Serbian sensation Hamad Medjedovic.
He arrived at Novak Djokovic's tennis academy, the Novak Tennis Center, earlier this month to join the coaching staff, and is preparing to share the court with Djokovic next week when the Serb plays Medjedovic, his protege.
In light of this, the Frenchman recently spoke with We Love Tennis about the former World No. 1's importance in the development of Serbian tennis. He claimed that the Serb is very engaged and attentive to his academy, which provides free facilities to players from all over Serbia as well as from other neighboring nations.
"Novak Djokovic is really thorough, he does not hesitate to often give advice to young people," Robert said. "He is very, very attentive and very involved, he also helps the hopefuls financially, that is really close to his heart. I discovered an accessible person who listens! There's no fuss here, and we work well. The structure is top notch."
"Djokovic gave free access to all Serbian players but also to neighboring countries. We have already hit with Djere, Lajovic for example. Next week, I will be on the court with him, it will make me very funny. In fact, he will hit with my protege Hamad Medjedovic, so you will have to be on the job," he added.
Stéphane Robert, Hamad Medjedovic's coach:
"Here, it's serious but in a friendly atmosphere! Novak Djokovic is really into it. he does not hesitate to often give advice to young people. He is very, very attentive and very involved."
welovetennis.fr/le-blog-de-la-… via @WeLoveTennis
Will Novak Djokovic play at the US Open 2022?
The million dollar question right now is whether or not the 21-time Grand Slam champion will be able to compete at the 2022 US Open. In a nutshell, while it's possible, it's extremely unlikely that he will compete in the year's final Major.
Foreign visitors must, at the moment, be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to enter the United States of America, which Djokovic has consistently said he is not willing to do. Hence, his chances of participating in the New York Major are currently slim at best.
However, there is still a chance that Djokovic will compete in the year's final Grand Slam event thanks to the CDC's (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) significant relaxation of its COVID-19 regulations.
The most recent CDC guidelines claim that there will be no distinction between those who have had vaccinations and those who have not. Whilst it only applies to American citizens for now, it has given the 35-year-old optimism that the CDC might alter its rules for non-citizens as well before the end of the month.
A big update from @CDCgov today is the CDC recommendations no longer differentiate based on a person’s vaccination status - acknowledging breakthrough infections are common, and taking natural immunity into consideration.