Djokovic Lightens Pre-Wimbledon Jitters with Sharapova Impersonation

Novak Djokovic, one of a handful of greats who are after the Wimbledon men’s single title, lightened the mood prior to the biggest tennis tournament of the year by impersonating Maria Sharapova’s pre-play routine while playing against her boyfriend, Grigor Dimitrov.

The two were getting ready for their pre-Wimbledon warm-up at the Boodles tennis tournament at Stokes Park and had a very attentive audience cheering them on.  Djokovic, noted as the clown of the professional tennis circuit, first poked fun at Sharapova’s traditionally theatrical on-court performance, before performing a quasi striptease for the crowd.  He also urged Dimitrov to do the same, driving the spectators wild with laughter.

Djokovic has said, however, that for all the fooling around on court, he remains absolutely focused on redeeming himself on the grass courts of Wimbledon, following his defeat at the hands of Rafael Nadal at the French Open.

“The consolation is that I have Wimbledon coming up and there is no bigger motivation than playing in the most prestigious tournament in the world in our sport,” said Djokovic. “It is the one I always dreamed of winning and it was the highlight of my career. I love playing in Wimbledon – the grass is the most special surface in our sport. Hopefully I can bounce back from that defeat to Nadal in Paris that was a thrilling match to be a part of. Life goes on and it and won’t be the first or last time I lose. I lost to him at the French three or four times before this year. A loss is a loss and of course it hurts, but the next day you wake up to a new day and you have to stand up and work and get stronger.”

Djokovic is current favorite to win the Wimbledon men’s single tournament with odds of 6/5, with Nadal and Andy Murray sharing second-favorite odds of 4/1.