"Novak Djokovic's vocabulary & everything is almost more impressive than what he does on the court" - Andy Murray
Former World No. 1 Andy Murray recently complimented Novak Djokovic for his strong command over a huge number of languages. The Serb can speak a whopping 11 different languages, and according to Murray, Djokovic's linguistic skills can even rival his on-court ability.
During a Twitch stream with Gael Monfils, Andy Murray was asked to choose the player which player between Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tstisipas has a better British accent. The former two-time Wimbledon didn't hesitate before naming Djokovic as his pick.
"I think Novak has a better English accent than Tsitsipas for me. I think Novak is unbelievable with languages and stuff like that," replied Murray.
Gael Monfils then mentioned how Novak Djokovic can speak a variety of languages, including Serbian, French, English, Arabic and Italian. The Frenchman pointed out that the 2020 Australian Open winner can have a fluent conversation in any of these languages.
"I think his vocabulary and everything is almost more impressive than what he does on the court," Andy Murray continued.
For the record, Novak Djokovic knows Chinese, German, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, and Japanese languages as well. It goes without saying that the Belgrade native is the strongest multi-linguist on the tour at the moment.
How has Novak Djokovic has mastered so many languages?
For an average human, speaking their mother tongue and their work language is more than enough. However, Novak Djokovic is a superhuman in this regard, and he feels that communicating in the opposite person's native speech adds a different touch to the conversation.
That believe motivates Novak Djokovic to not only to learn the basic grammar of a foreign language but also to achieve mastery in it.
The Serb gave a fine example of his French-speaking skills during a press conference at the Paris Masters last year. In fact, he has regularly shown off his multi-linguistic skills on the tour.
The 2020 French Open runner-up is currently competing in the ATP Finals at London, where he will lock horns with Daniil Medvedev on Wednesday. Djokovic beat Diego Schwartzman in his first match, and a victory over his Russian rival will guarantee the five-time Wimbledon winner a place in the semifinals.