Novak Djokovic appeared recently on the American television show 60 Minutes for an extensive interview. Now, interviewer Jon Wertheim has revealed how the chat was arranged. The American divulged that the interview’s fate depended upon Djokovic’s US Open result.
Djokovic spoke openly about various things in the interview with Wertheim. He discussed his rivalries with Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and even Carlos Alcaraz. He also talked about how he dealt with crowds opposing him for most of his career. This was not the first time the Serb appeared on 60 Minutes. Over a decade ago in 2011, he was interviewed on the same show.
The episode starring Djokovic aired on December 10, 2023. However, host Wertheim disclosed it was shot before the ATP Finals, just one week after the Paris Masters. He said he met the player’s agent earlier this year to clear the air regarding his previous criticisms of Djokovic (via SI). After that, Wertheim said he proposed a 60 Minutes program with him and got approval from the producers.
“Anyway, with the air cleared, his team and I spoke over the summer about putting together a 60 Minutes segment. I bounced this off two ace producers, Draggan Mihailovich and Emily Cameron.”
The interviewer said they decided to wait for Djokovic’s result at the 2023 US Open. He believed it would not have been a great time to conduct an interview if the World No.1 had lost two Grand Slams on the trot. Djokovic eventually won the Major in New York and the network fixed dates after some discussions.
“We all decided that it would be best to wait and see if Djokovic won the U.S. Open, as the timing might seem strange if, suddenly, he had lost consecutive majors. (Such is the standard he has set.) Djokovic, of course, took the U.S. Open title. He switched management teams after the Open, but we pressed on and found mutually convenient dates.”
Wertheim revealed the 24-time Slam champion wished to shoot the episode in Belgrade, which is where they did it.
“He expressed an interest in doing the interview in Belgrade, which made sense. So we met the week after the Paris Indoors event and before Turin.”
Novak Djokovic glad the interview happened in Serbia
Novak Djokovic is vocal about his claims that the ‘Western World’ does not give Serbia its due. Hence, he was ecstatic that Jon Wertheim and the 60 Minutes team agreed to travel to the Eastern European nation. The American said Djokovic thanked them many times for visiting his home country.
“It meant a lot to Djokovic that we came to Serbia. Multiple times, he thanked our entire crew for visiting and suggested that it doesn’t happen often.”
Wertheim added that Djokovic offered various ways to catch him on film. During the one week the crew was in his country, the Serb had golfing, biking, and stretching on his schedule. They decided to capture him as he warmed up and exercised his stretches.
“He offered some options for filming: During the week, he was planning on playing some golf (visually, meh). He was planning on riding a bike (meh). He was planning a dynamic stretching session (now we’re talking.) He let us film as he contorted himself.”
The chat with Wertheim on 60 Minutes was one of the most outspoken interviews from Djokovic in recent times. While the released episode was only 13 minutes long, it captured the attention of the tennis world.
