"We caught Novak Djokovic eating a pizza, but it turned out to be vegetarian" - Bogdan Bogdanovic jokingly recalls spreading 'fake news' about Serb
Novak Djokovic was once "spied on" by fellow countryman Bogdan Bogdanovic to see whether the stories about his diet were true.
Bogdanovic, a Serbian basketball player who plays for the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA, has revealed an interesting story about Djokovic from the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Bogdanovic was a member of the Serbian basketball national team at the time, while Djokovic was competing in the tennis tournament.
All athletes were often in the same place as is customary at the Olympics, and Bogdanovic and his teammates had an idea to check whether the tale of Djokovic's diet was true or not.
"We were chasing Novak to see whether he really eats what he says he eats," Bogdanovic said in an upcoming documentary on Djokovic. "That was fun for us. We once caught him eating a pizza, but it turned out to be a vegetarian pizza."
Before realizing their mistake, Bogdanovic and the rest of the culprits spread the news about Djokovic eating a regular pizza.
"We spread fake news about him eating pizza, but in the end it turned out we were just made a dumb mistake," the 30-year-old concluded his story.
What he was eating was the least of Djokovic's problems at the Rio Olympics, as he lost to Juan Martin del Potro, 6-7(4), 6-7(2), in the first round.
Meanwhile, Bogdanovic and the Serbian basketball team settled for the silver medal after losing to Team USA in the final.
Djokovic and Bogdanovic ended up becoming friends and have often supported each other throughout their careers. Ahead of the Wimbledon 2023 final, the basketball star showed support for Djokovic on Twitter, writing "Let's go champ."
🖤Ajmooooo Nole danas 🙏💪
Let’s go champ 🐍🖤
Novak Djokovic's morning routine revealed by basketball player Nemanja Nedovic
In a recent interview with Sportal, Serbian basketball player Nemanja Nedovic recalled trying to work out with Novak Djokovic, but failing to wake up early enough to do so.
Nedovic talked about meeting up with Djokovic in Montenegro, where the 23-time Grand Slam champion often stays in between tournaments.
"When he stays in Montenegro we often meet each other and talk because I'm in the same neighborhood," Nedovic said. "Once I was there with my friends and I ran into him. We talked about how we prepare for our national team obligations. I told him that we go out for runs, that we run for about 8-10 kilometers per day."
He added:
"He then asked us to go for a run together. We were all like: 'Of course, why not, we want to run with you.' He then told us: 'But there's a little problem, we wake up at 4.30 in the morning.' I was like... okay, I'll be in touch! (laughs)."
The former Golden State Warriors player also recounted what Djokovic's morning routine consisted of at the time.
"He was then working with a yoga or capoeira instructor so he was waking up at 4.30 in the morning," Nedovic said. "Then he had breakfast, then went to swim, then went for a run... He had a program he was following that had a schedule for him from 5 AM to 10, 11 AM, after which he can do what he wants."
Nedovic added that he was not able to follow the same path as Djokovic at the time.
"Unfortunately, I'm not used to that rhythm, so I had to skip the run with him. We'll see, maybe I'll manage to do it in the future, especially when my baby is born and it starts waking me up so early in the morning!" he concluded.