Reilly Opelka not impressed with Djokovic, Nadal and Serena Williams topping the trending athletes' list for 2022
Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Serena Williams were the top three trending athletes on Google's search engine in 2022, proving the immense popularity of the tennis legends.
However, not everyone was impressed by the achievement as Reilly Opelka gave his cheeky take on the trio topping the list. The World No. 38 reacted to a tweet by Eurosport about the results, dubbing it a "weird flex."
"Weird flex," Opelka wrote on Twitter.
Weird flex twitter.com/eurosport/statβ¦
Teenage sensation and current ATP World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz was the only other tennis player to feature on the list, with the Spaniard ranked at no. 10. Other notable athletes in the list include recently retired footballer Gerard Pique and WNBA star Brittney Griner.
Gerard Pique used to play centre-back at FC Barcelona before he announced his retirement in November this year. Besides his footballing exploits, he was also trending this year due to his split with long-time partner Shakira in June. The Colombian singer and Pique were together for 12 years.
Brittney Griner, on the other hand, was trending because of her imprisonment in Russia, which ended a few days ago after a one-for-one prisoner swap involving the USA and Russia.
Novak Djokovic has had an eventful 2022 season
The 21-time Grand Slam winner has had a noteworthy 2022 season which has often seen him feature in the headlines.
The Serbian kicked off his season with a controversial deportation from Australia. Djokovic was granted permission to compete in the Australian Open despite being unvaccinated. However, just a few days before the commencement of the Major, the Serb was deported from Down Under and handed a three-year ban - which has since been overturned.
The 35-year-old was also barred from participating in the season's last Grand Slam, the US Open. Djokovic did compete at Roland Garros but lost to Nadal, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6, in the quarterfinals.
The Serb then won his 21st Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon. Facing Nick Kyrgios in the final, Djokovic rallied from one set down to eventually beat the Australian.
The Serb continued his impressive run late in the season as he won his sixth ATP Finals title. He beat former World No. 2 Casper Ruud in straight sets to win the title in Turin.
The Serb will commence the 2023 season at the Adelaide International in January, among a formidable lineup that includes Felix Auger-Aliassime, Daniil Medvedev, Holger Rune, and others. The ATP 250 event starts on January 1 and will give the Serb a platform to rehearse before the first Grand Slam of the 2023 season, the Australian Open, scheduled to start on January 16.