Djokovic: I don’t need Eye of the Tiger before a match, I need something to calm me down
While some need music to motivate themselves, Djokovic says he already has enough inside himself, and needs to focus on being calm instead
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Various tennis players have different routines before matches that sometimes turn into superstitions.
At this year’s Australian Open, there have been many questions about what kind of music players listen to before heading out on court. Serbian reporters spoke to Novak Djokovic to find out his preferences.
Media: We know that you’re not obsessed with habits and rituals before the matches…
Djokovic: “I have to correct you, because there is a difference. I am not a slave to habits, but they can be extremely important – I do have them and I respect them.
“Superstition is something else, I don’t have superstitions, though sometimes I like to use the same shower in the locker room. It’s not that I think, ‘Oh, no, I am going to lose if it’s not that shower’, it’s not a problem for me if it’s occupied.”
Media: And do you ever sing in the shower?
Djokovic: “I am a bit of an old-school kind of guy when it comes to music, I listen mainly to the 80s and the 90s.”
Media: Carlos Alcaraz said that he listens to the theme from the Rocky movies to get himself more pumped before the matches.
Djokovic: “I do like Rocky, but it’s not my style to maybe look at myself in the mirror, pumping myself up with ‘Eye of the Tiger’.
“I don’t need that. I feel like I am full of everything inside as it is, it seems like I am about to explode, so I need something to calm me down a bit. That’s why I prefer classical music (before the match). I would explode if I listened to Rocky then.”
In the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, Djokovic is due to face Taylor Fritz, against whom he holds a 8-0 record.
