"Novak Djokovic always has to reckon the gaze of millions people," said former star

• Sports

When tennis players of the caliber of Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev meet, it is certain that the match will reserve surprises. How can we forget the final of the US Open, the challenge of the Serbian's broken dream who strangely succumbed to enormous pressure.

The two recently met in another illustrious scenario like that of the Nitto ATP Finals. The match was worth little in terms of qualifying for the semifinals (Medvedev was already two defeats suffered in the group), but in terms of emotions, the two champions did not miss anything.

In the end Djokovic defeated it, but only after continuous reversals in the face. In fact, it took the tie-break in the third set to decide it. Despite having witnessed a shaky performance from the Belgrade, however, the former world number 1 and today's pundit for Eurosport Mats Wilander had only words of praise for Novak Djokovic, whom he described as "a physically and emotionally beast an animal on the pitch tennis".

Wilander praises Djokovic

During a speech made to Eurosport, the broadcaster for which he works, Mats Wilander sang the praises of Novak Djokovic, champion at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin for the sixth time in his career: "There is more drama in professional tennis now, and the drama of emotions is what draws people to the screen in general.

So I like it. Djokovic has to deal with the gazes of millions of people all the time, except during a match when it's just him and one other person. He is exchanging with that person, and this exchange includes his emotions, his thoughts and his physical state.

So I don't get anything special out of it, except that the guy is an absolute physical beast, and emotionally he's an animal on the tennis court as well. He is fantastic." Wilander himself then retraced Novak Djokovic's season, further arguing that his career is destined to last yet another year or two: "Novak Djokovic had to give up the Australian Open and the US Open this year, a big too bad for him and for tennis in general.

What he went through in 2022 may have extended his career by 1-2 years. The Australian telenovela upset him emotionally and it took him some time to recover, but then he proved that he is still the best. He surprised me that he didn't manage to win the Paris-Bercy Masters 1000, but he can't always be won.

The loss to Rune in the final did not destabilize him and he closed the season in style by triumphing in the Finals. It's crazy what he does on the pitch at 35 years old. He can find motivation even in the little things, which is really amazing."