THE Novak Djokovic won the first title in Hellenic Championship of Athens, with his 2-0 set victory (4-6, 6-3, 7-5) over Lorenzo Muzzetti and after the end of the final, he thanked the Greek fans for his presence at the Telecom Center, again speaking in Greek.
In the statements after the end of the final at the Hellenic Championship, Novak Djokovic praised the people who attended the tournament and said once again that he loves Greece.
Djokovic’s statements
“I don’t know where to start. First of all, to express my respect to Lorenzo. At this level, all of us have more or less experienced defeats in such matches, so I know it is difficult. If there is one positive, it is your level today and all week. I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but you’re probably playing your best tennis on clay, but your improvement on hardcourts is tremendous, keep it up!”
Afterwards, he warmly thanked the Greek audience: “I want to thank the people of Greece and Athens, who came and supported the tournament, supported tennis, supported sports. It’s the first time Greece has had a tournament of this level in over 30 years and honestly, my overall experience from this week was like it never stopped having tournaments! Like they’ve been holding tournaments every year, all these years. You were fantastic and thank you so much.”
For his own people: “I also want to thank my family and my team. It was a very special week for me because all my close people, family and friends, were here at the stadium. My son is there, my brothers. I’ve said it, but I’ll say it again: playing here was like playing at home and you guys made me feel that way, thank you very much.”
For the organization of Athens: “I want to make a special reference to the organization, which in cooperation with the Greek authorities managed to hold this tournament in 3-4 months. It was very short time, a lot of people don’t understand how difficult it is to organize a tournament of this level. It was a perfect finale and you (the audience) showed that you have a passion for tennis. I really hope that Athens will acquire a tradition and organize many international tournaments”.
The saying in Greek: “I love you Greece, thank you very much!”