Novak Djokovic sent me a message of support but Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal preferred silence: Sergiy Stakhovsky
Former Ukrainian tennis player Sergiy Stakhovsky recently revealed that Novak Djokovic reached out to him with a "message of support" during his country's war with Russia.
Speaking to La Stampa, Stakhovsky, who recently signed up for his country's military reserves, revealed that he also reached out to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for help. Unfortunately for the 36-year-old, Federer and Nadal did not respond, which left him disappointed.
"Djokovic sent me a message of support, we even chatted a bit," Sergiy Stakhovsky said. "I tried to contact Federer and Nadal, I’m sorry they preferred silence. I understand them, it’s not their war. We have the support of great personalities, I hope it lasts."
Sergiy #Stakhovsky to 'La Stampa': "#Djokovic sent me a message of support, we even chatted a bit. I tried to contact #Federer and #Nadal, I’m sorry they preferred silence. I understand them, it’s not their war. We have the support of great personalities, I hope it lasts" https://t.co/YwQCS6Lz86
Sergiy Stakhovsky announced his retirement from tennis this January after failing to qualify for the Australian Open. The Ukrainian is famous in tennis circles for eliminating Roger Federer in the second round of Wimbledon in 2013, in what was one of the finest displays of modern-day serve-and-volley tennis.
Stakhovsky and Djokovic faced each other four times, with the Serb emerging victorious on each of those occasions. More impressively, Djokovic did not drop a set against the Ukrainian in any of those matches.
Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev are the good guys: Sergiy Stakhovsky
Russians Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev are among the many tennis players who have openly expressed their opposition at the violence against Ukraine.
Stakhovsky, on his part, does not think Medvedev and Rublev should be targeted and blamed for being Russian.
"They (Medvedev and Rublev) are good guys, they understand the atrocity of this war. If nothing else they try to do something, others don't," Stakhovsky said.
Sergiy Stakhovsky lamented the fact that no action was taken against Russia when they annexed Crimea back in 2014. He believes things would not have spiraled out of control if they had been sanctioned at the time.
"If that means I'm going to have to use a weapon to defend myself by shooting someone, I will," Stakhovsky said. "The truth is, you haven't done anything for seven years. If you had done what you are doing now eight years ago, when Crimea was annexed, we would not be in this trouble."
Stakhovsky also mentioned that he has received "hundreds" of messages of support from tennis players around the globe.
"I have already received hundreds of messages from tennis players all over the world, shocked by what is happening. It is a help. It means that they understand that what Putin says about Nazi Ukrainians is false. "