Novak Djokovic sometimes explodes toward his box during his matches on the ATP Tour, and he recently explained why that is.
As a professional athlete, the 36-year-old often faces many challenges, and a lot of pressure on the tennis court, and when things don't go well, pressure can turn into emotion.
That's when fans can see Djokovic yelling toward his box, something that the Serbian often jokingly refers to as torture, but both Djokovic and his team are aware that it's just a normal relief of stress.
During a recent interview with Jon Wertheim, published also by Sports Illustrated, the 24-time Grand Slam champion gave some insight into what's happening when he shouts at his box.
The Serbian explains that even though the frustration is often not connected to his team, they are his closest contact on the tennis court, and that's why he shares all the happy, but also, all the sad and angry moments with them.
"Sometimes it’s my frustration, maybe not particularly with the box, but just with myself, with my game. And then the player box and my coaching staff is normally 99% of the time the people that I look towards, you know?"
The world no. 1 is aware that what's happening on the court is not fault of his team, but still, as he says, they have to accept it.
One of their tasks is also to calm and motivate Djokovic, and in moments like that, a good team can make all the difference. The 36-year-old knows that, and that's why the dynamic with his team is so unique.
"And I try to make an eye contact, try to communicate with them. So, they [laughs] unfortunately sometimes have to, you know, I guess accept some of my tantrums [laughs] that are happening on the court, even though it’s not their fault."