Novak Djokovic received a shout-out from American actor and tennis enthusiast, Matthew McConaughey, who stated that the Serbian still reigns supreme in the tennis world despite the emergence of new-age players in recent years. McConaughey has often expressed his love for the sport on social media and from the courtside.
The 24-time Grand Slam winner became the only man to achieve a triple Career Grand Slam and a Career Golden Masters. He added his first Olympic gold in the men's singles in Paris 2024 but failed to make a podium finish at the 2024 US Open, thus ending his run for the 25th Grand Slam title. He then withdrew from the ATP finals citing an injury and finished the year as World No. 7.
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Despite a string of disappointments, he received praise from his friend Matthew McConaughey in a show with Nick Kyrgios. The Hollywood icon stressed that Djokovic still holds the reigning position, defying age, despite the presence of young players like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner who have reached their own milestones in the tennis world. (via Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios)
"We're just coming off of the Nadal, Federer, Djokovic reign. There's always someone who comes up, and they go, 'oh, this is next big thing'. And you look around two years ago, 'Where did he or she go?' Yeah, Alcaraz is not a 'Where did he go? Sinner doesn't make it look like a 'Where did he go?' So, there's some youngers establishing themselves, 'We're here. This is how it's going'. And you've got Djokovic going, 'I'm still alive, bro'. Roaring over there. You're not taking my reign yet. The age difference is obvious, but he's still unbelievable. The most surprising thing." (3:21)
The actor, worth $160 million as per Celebrity Net Worth, further unveiled that he wishes the Serb to clinch the Olympic gold and set a standard for others to chase.
Novak Djokovic once hilariously asked Matthew McConaughey for tennis tips
Although he won an Oscar for his role in the drama series True Detective, McConaughey rose to fame with his prominent contribution to the coming-of-age comedy Dazed and Confused in 1993. Alongside starring in several movies, the 55-year-old has often shown his love for tennis by gracing the courts to play the game himself.
Earlier this year, he posted a photo of himself at the court, posing with the racket drenched in sweat, and captioned:
"love this game"
The 37-year-old Serb dropped a hilarious comment under the post, asking for valuable tennis tips from his friend.
"Got any tips?"
McConaughey was also present to cheer on the 99-time singles title winner at the 2023 US Open, where the latter won his 24th Grand Slam title, the most for any player in history.
