“I think of you”
In the war, Djokovic shows his soft side
03/06/2022, 7:00 p.m
Novak Djokovic is a two-faced person. His entry into the Australian Open is an early inglorious highlight of the sporting year, but now he’s showing his other side amid the onslaught on Ukraine. He offers his financial support to a former colleague.
Controversial tennis superstar Novak Djokovic has offered his financial support to former tennis player Sergiy Stakhovsky. The 36-year-old Ukrainian only ended his career in January after his exit at the Australian Open and reported for military service after Russia attacked his home country. For this he had left his wife and three children in his adopted country of Hungary.
“Please let me know where is the best place to send help. Financial help, but also any other kind of help…” wrote Djokovic in a WhatsApp conversation published by Stakhovsky on Instagram.: “Thinking of you… hope that everything will calm down soon.”
Stakhovsky, who was once ranked No. 31 in the ATP world rankings and defeated Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2013, spoke to CNN in early March about his urge to go to Ukraine. “I was born here, my grandparents are buried here and I want to be able to tell my children a story,” he had said: “No one here wants to be liberated from Russia. There is freedom and democracy here and Russia wants to bring despair and poverty to them. ”
Tell the children nothing
The 36-year-old, who is going to war with no military experience, also spoke to CNN about the decision to leave his family. “Of course you think about it,” he had said: “I have a wife and three children. If I stayed at home, I would feel guilty because I didn’t come back to Ukraine. And now that you’re here, I feel I feel guilty for leaving her at home.”
He adds that they didn’t tell the children anything. “My wife didn’t tell them and I didn’t tell them … where I was going,” he had said, “I think they’ll find out soon.”
Ukraine has also called on expatriate Ukrainian men aged between 18 and 60 to defend the country against Russian invaders. Numerous sports stars have already followed this appeal. The boxing stars Oleksandr Usyk and Vasiliy Lomachenko have already donned their military uniforms, and the coach of the Moldovan football club FC Sheriff Tiraspol, Yuriy Vernydub, is no longer on the sidelines but on the defensive line.
“I have no problem using firearms. I know how to do it,” Vernydub wrote in an article for the BBC, saying of the war: “I can’t think of anything else. There will only be peace if we to win.”
Heavyweight boxing world champion Usyk had made a similar statement, but told CNN that he would like not to use his weapon. “I don’t want to shoot, I don’t want to kill anyone. But if they want to kill me, then I have no choice,” he told the US broadcaster.
