"Novak Djokovic and Ernests Gulbis broke racquets, argued, always punched each other" - Former ATP player Cosmin Georgescu
Former Romanian ATP player Cosmin Georgescu recently shed light on the past relationship between 23-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic and Latvian tennis player Ernests Gulbis.
Gulbis is famous for all the wrong reasons. A talented player who rose to prominence after stunning Roger Federer at the 2010 Italian Open, he has been struggling with controversies over the years. These include being arrested for allegedly soliciting prostitutes, enraging fans with misogynistic comments, and much more.
Gulbis attended the Nikola Pilic Academy when he first began playing tennis, and interestingly, one of the players he trained with at the academy was Novak Djokovic.
Speaking about the relationship between the Serb and the Latvian at the time, Georgescu, who attended the same academy, recently told the Romanian media that they both broke racquets, argued and punched each other. But, he added, they were very determined on the practice courts.
"Djokovic knew Pilic and after a while, Ernest Gulbis arrived! Two different characters, Djokovic and Gulbis. Completely different but when they were both on the field, no one could take them off until after 6-8 hours of training a day," Georgescu said.
"They broke rackets, argued, punched each other, always punched each other. Two ambitious characters as rarely meet, proud and determined," he added.
"Novak Djokovic was my first roommate at the tennis academy" - Cosmin Georgescu
Cosmin Georgescu then described how his father once unexpectedly informed him that he would be travelling to Germany to attend the Nikola Pilic Tennis Academy.
"I had finished a training session. I came home and my father told me: in a week you will go to Germany to a tennis academy. I played tennis and went to high school," he said.
When the Romanian first arrived at the academy, his first roommate was none other than Novak Djokovic.
"Nole was my first roommate at the tennis academy of the legendary Croatian tennis player Nikki Pilic. Pilic put me in the room with Djokovic! There were other guys, both Croats and Serbs, even Russians," Georgescu said.
Djokovic is currently vacationing in Croatia with his family, just days after his heartbreaking final loss at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. He was defeated in that contest by the World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz.
The Belgrade native was seen enjoying a relaxing vacation with his wife, Jelena, and their children, Stefan and Tara, in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Interestingly, the 23-time Grand Slam champion was photographed on a yacht named after his daughter Tara.