與FT共進午餐 德約科維奇 Lunch with the FT Novak Djokovic
Midway through lunch with Novak Djokovic he still hasn’t touched his food. It concerns me. I tell the world’s best tennis player that I will talk to him about my own game to give him some time to eat. It’s generally pretty wretched, I say, but it gets particularly ugly when I am 30-40 down and I have just missed my first serve, at which point I feel I am looking down into an existential black hole, sense my self-esteem ebb away, and invariably send the ball careering outside the lines. So what does it feel like for him in the “clutch” moments, which have rather more at stake?
我與諾瓦克德約科維奇(Novak Djokovic)的午餐已過去了一半時間，然而他還沒碰過面前的食物。我心裏感到不安。於是我對這位世界排名第一的網球選手說，我要開始聊聊我自己打網球的經歷，好給他些時間吃飯。總體來說，我的戰績相當慘烈，但當我剛錯失自己首個發球局，跟着又以30比40的比分落後時，局面變得更加糟糕。那一刻，我覺得自己腳下出現了一個黑洞，我感到自尊在一絲絲流走，手上不由自主地揮拍將球急速送向界外。那麼當他遇到“關鍵”時刻（比我的自然要危急得多），他是什麼感覺呢？
“The first thing is to make sure you are in the moment,” he answers calmly. “That is much easier to say than to do. You have to exclude all distractions and focus only on what you are about to do. In order to get to that state of concentration, you need to have a lot of experience, and a lot of mental strength. You are not born with that. It is something you have to build by yourself.”
德約科維奇平靜地答道：“首先，你要確保自己把注意力放在當下。這件事說起來容易做起來難。你必須排除所有雜念，只專注你要做的這件事。爲了進入這種全神貫注的狀態，你需要積攢大量經驗，還要磨練出很強的意志力。這東西不是天生的，你得自己去培養。”
His conversation is fluent, intense and measured, not unlike his ground strokes. “I believe that half of any victory in a tennis match is in place before you step on to the court. If you don’t have that self-belief, then fear takes over. And then it will get too much for you to handle. It’s a fine line. The energy of those moments is so high: how are you going to use it? Are you going to let it consume you, or are you going to accept its presence and say, ‘OK, let’s work together.’”
他言語流利，說話認真、慎重，與他的擊落地球別無二致。“我相信對任何一場網球比賽來說，勝負在你踏入球場前就已經決定了一半。如果你沒有這種自信，恐懼感就會佔上風，然後你的恐懼將越來越大，大到你無法承受。其間只有細微差別。恐懼的能量是非常大的，你打算怎麼利用？你是想被恐懼吞噬，還是接受它的存在，然後對它說，‘好吧，讓我們一起努力’。”
It is hard to believe that this supremely self-assured champion has his scary moments. Did he ever actually feel fear on the court these days? “Absolutely. Absolutely. Everyone feels fear. I don’t trust a man who says he has no fear. But fear is like a passing cloud in the sky. After it passes, there is a clear blue sky.” Not so easy to say if you are Andy Murray, brought up under the leaden clouds of Scotland, I say, and Djokovic laughs politely.
很難相信這位超自信的冠軍也會有害怕的時刻。他在球場上有沒有真正感到過恐懼？“有，當然有。每個人都會感到恐懼。我不相信有人會說自己毫不恐懼。但恐懼就像天上飄過的一朵雲，飄走之後，又是一片晴朗的藍天。”我回答道，假如你是安迪穆雷(Andy Murray)，從小在蘇格蘭經常烏雲密佈的天空下長大，你就很難這麼說了。德約科維奇客氣地笑了。
We are in the clear blue sky of southern Europe in one of the newest models in the fleet of NetJets, a private jet company, travelling from Belgrade to Monaco, where Djokovic lives with his wife Jelena and their 11-month old son, Stefan. I have been promised a knock with him, as part of an afternoon of tennis clinics he will give at the Monte Carlo Country Club with NetJets clients. Djokovic “owns” part of the plane in which we are travelling, under the company’s fractional ownership arrangement. He tells them when he needs it; they sort out the details. It’s as simple, inclement weather permitting, as getting a restring for his racquet.
我們正乘坐着私人飛機公司NetJets一款最新型的飛機，飛翔在南歐晴朗的藍天中。飛機從貝爾格萊德飛往摩納哥，德約科維奇與妻子伊蓮娜(Jelena)還有他們11個月大的兒子斯特凡(Stefan)居住在摩納哥。下午他將在蒙特卡洛鄉村俱樂部(Monte Carlo Country Club)爲NetJets的客戶進行一次網球指導，他已經答應屆時要跟我“切磋”一場。根據NetJets公司的“分式產權”安排，我們乘坐的這架飛機有部分爲德約科維奇“擁有”。他需要使用時就告知NetJets，細節問題由該公司解決，這就跟給他的網球拍換個線一樣簡單——只要天氣情況允許。
Given the demands and head-spinning rewards of the professional tennis tour, it is the only way to travel. Djokovic’s schedule is relentless: he is at the top of the game’s rankings, and holds three out of four of this year’s Grand Slam titles. He travels constantly, and needs to rest, because he doesn’t make a habit out of leaving tournaments in their early rounds.
鑑於參加職業網球巡迴賽的需要以及高到讓人暈眩的獎金，這是唯一適合的出行方式。德約科維奇的賽程排得滿滿當當的，他是現役男子網球選手單打第一，在今年四項大滿貫賽事中三次奪冠。他出行頻繁，還得留出時間休息，因爲他還沒養成在比賽前幾輪就打道回府的“習慣”。
His 10 Grand Slam career wins put him equal seventh in the all-time list, but no one seriously believes that he will stop there. At the age of 28, he is at the peak of his powers: in form, in demand, and in relentless pursuit of the two contemporary players who hold more titles than him: Rafael Nadal (14) and record-holder Roger Federer (17).
到目前爲止，德約科維奇已贏得10個大滿貫冠軍，這一成績讓他排到網球歷史上最偉大男球員並列第七位，但沒人認爲他會止步於此。今年28歲的德約科維奇無論是從競技狀態還是求勝心來說，都處於巔峯，而且他還有一個不懈追求的目標：當代還有兩名球員獲得的冠軍數量比他多，一位是獲得過14次冠軍的拉菲爾納達爾(Rafael Nadal)，還有一位是紀錄保持者，獲得過17次冠軍的羅傑費德勒(Roger Federer)。
Djokovic has suffered — even if it is problematic to use that word when dealing with a figure of such sporting distinction — from “third man” syndrome during that time. His ascent was widely viewed as a presumptuous intrusion, upsetting tennis’s perfectly calibrated duel of archetypes: Roger Federer, the unruffled, elegant Swiss versus Rafael Nadal, the taurine Spaniard. Their battles had captured the public imagination, and sent the game spinning into unimagined levels of excellence. However could Djokovic fit in?
在很長時期裏，德約科維奇一直飽受“第三人”綜合症困擾——雖然用這樣一個詞來形容一位如此傑出的運動員是有問題的。人們普遍將他的崛起視作一場冒失的闖入，認爲他擾亂了完美搭配的網壇模範對決：沉穩優雅的瑞士人羅傑費德勒，對陣西班牙蠻牛拉菲爾納達爾。公衆對這二人的大戰充滿期待，同時將這一運動推上了超乎想象的高度。德約科維奇怎樣才能適應呢？
Well, by beating them. The Serbian has triumphed over Federer in all three of their last Grand Slam finals, while his five-set victory over Nadal at the 2012 Australian Open is widely considered to be one of the most punishing matches of all time, the tennis equivalent of boxing’s Thrilla in Manila between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. It marked a turning point: the third man was here to stay.
答案就是：打敗他們。這個塞爾維亞人在與費德勒近期對陣的三場大滿貫決賽中全都取得了勝利。2012年澳網公開賽中他五盤拿下納達爾的那場比賽，被公認是網球史上最艱苦的比賽之一，這場比賽堪比網球界的“馬尼拉的震顫”(Thrilla in Manila)——穆罕默德阿里(Muhammad Ali)和喬弗雷澤(Joe Frazier)之間那場著名拳擊大戰。這場比賽標誌了一個轉折點，這位“第三人”從此站住了腳。
We sit down face-to-face in our leather seats, surrounded by pristine wooden panelling, and shortly after take-off, two plates of assorted sushi and sashimi are brought to us. They come from Maya Bay, Djokovic’s favourite restaurant in Monaco. I congratulate him on his US Open win in September, and ask how long it took him to pick up a racquet again after receiving the trophy.
我們面對面地坐在真皮座椅裏，四周的內飾都採用了質樸的木質鑲板。飛機起飛不久後，空乘給我們送來兩盤什錦壽司和生魚片。這些海鮮來自“瑪雅灣”(Maya Bay)，這是德約科維奇在摩納哥最喜歡的一家餐館。我對他在9月美網公開賽中取得勝利表示祝賀，並詢問他拿到這座獎盃後，再過多久他纔會再次拿起球拍。
“About 10 to 11 days,” he replies. “That is the maximum number of days that I don’t play tennis, and I needed that because I have had a very tough, competitive year behind me. I wanted to put my racquet aside, and hold my baby in my arms.” All tournaments, he says, are exhausting. “But it adds a little bit more flavour when you win,” he understates.
德約科維奇回答道：“大約10到11天吧。這是我不打網球的最長天數，而且我也需要休息這麼多天，過去一年的比賽非常激烈，我打得也很艱苦。我想暫時放下球拍，抱一抱我的寶寶。”他說這些比賽讓他精疲力盡，“但當你贏球時，付出的辛苦也有了趣味。”他輕描淡寫地說道。
The last week in Belgrade has hardly been a holiday: Djokovic and his wife have been supervising the work of their charitable foundation, which is devoted to improving pre-school education in their native country. What inspired that particular mission? “Personal experience. I didn’t have that kind of schooling, because we come from a culture that believes it is better for children to stay at home with the extended family, which is not something we are against.” But education, he says, is a building block: “something that nobody can take away from you. It helps to build your character, and stimulates you to be independent.”
十月初，德約科維奇回到貝爾格萊德，但幾乎完全沒有休息，他和妻子一直在監督他們的慈善基金會的運作。倆人的基金會致力於改善塞爾維亞的學前教育。是什麼激發他要進行這項特定的事業呢？“個人經歷吧。我沒接受過學前教育，因爲在我們的文化裏，人們認爲孩子留在家裏，在大家庭裏成長更好，我們並不反對這樣的成長方式。”他接着說，可是教育就像你的一個組成部分：“沒人能從你手裏拿走它。教育可以幫助你培養性格，激勵你更加獨立。”
Djokovic may not have had the benefits of a nursery schooling but something remarkable took its place: the unfettered attentions of a coach, Jelena Gencic, who first saw him aged five, pressing against the fence of her tennis camp in the mountain resort of Kopaonik, where Djokovic’s parents ran a pizza restaurant. She asked the wide-eyed boy if he wanted to have a hit. The rest is part of the Djokovic mythology: she was so astounded by the young boy’s precocity that she sought his parents immediately, and told them he could be a star in the making.
德約科維奇可能沒享受過幼兒園教育的益處，但他接受過更出色的教育，那就是伊蓮娜根契奇(Jelena Gencic)對他的無限關愛。根契奇第一次看到德約科維奇時，他才5歲。當時根契奇在Kopaonik山區度假勝地經營一家網球訓練營，小德約趴在訓練營的鐵絲網外面，他的父母在附近開了一家披薩店。接下來的事構成了德約科維奇傳奇的一部分，根契奇問這個大眼睛男孩想不想揮下拍子，不料小男孩的早熟讓根契奇驚訝不已，她當即找到他的父母，告訴他們這個孩子會成長爲一個明星。
Is it possible that Djokovic, who hadn’t picked up a racquet up to that point, could have slipped through the game’s grasp if it hadn’t been for that moment? He waves his hand dismissively. “I don’t like ‘what-ifs’,” he says firmly. “I am a strong believer that everything happens for a reason. If you ask yourself those questions, you can go on forever.”
德約科維奇見到根契奇之前從未拿起過網球拍。可不可以假設，如果那一刻網球沒有吸引他的注意，他可能就會錯過它？德約科維奇不以爲然地擺了擺手，堅定地答道：“我不喜歡‘如果……可能’這樣的假設。我堅信凡事不會無緣無故地發生。如果你對自己提出這類問題，就會沒完沒了地問下去。”
Gencic said she would personally oversee the young boy’s development. “She saw the sparkle in my eyes. My father believed her, and he believed in me.” The coach became a mentor, introducing her charge not just to tennis but also to poetry, science and classical music. Gencic’s death during the 2013 French Open was kept from Djokovic until after his third-round match, and came as a devastating blow. “She was like my second mother,” he said in a press conference later in the week.
根契奇說她會親自監督這個小男孩的成長。“她在我眼中看到閃光。我父親相信她，而且他也對我有信心。”根契奇教練成了他的導師，她不僅教他打網球，還教他詩歌、科學和古典音樂。2013年法網公開賽期間，根契奇教練逝世，德約科維奇的團隊對他封鎖了這一消息，直到第三輪比賽後才告訴他。這個消息讓他大受打擊。當週晚些時候他在一場新聞發佈會上表示：“她就像我的第二個媽媽。”
The teenage Djokovic stormed through the rankings. He developed a reputation for his remarkably consistent high level of play, for his athletic prowess and physical fitness, and for the odd hot-headed moment. And this year — French Open aside — he has achieved everything he wanted. I ask him how he keeps himself motivated.
十幾歲的德約科維奇像旋風一樣衝進了世界排名。他建立起了個人聲譽，包括驚人穩定的高水平發揮，超強的競技實力和體能，以及偶爾會突然急躁。今年他已經實現了所有目標——除了法網公開賽以外。我問他怎樣讓自己充滿動力。
“I can carry on playing at this level because I like hitting the tennis ball,” he says simply. Are there players who don’t, I ask? “Oh yes. There are people out there who don’t have the right motivation. You don’t need to talk to them. I can see it. But I don’t judge. I completely respect everybody’s freedom of choice. If it works for them...”
“我之所以能保持現在的競技水平，是因爲我喜歡打網球。”他簡單地答道。我問，難道還有不喜歡打網球的球員？“有啊。有人打網球的動機並不正確。你不用聽他們說就能看出來。但我不做評判，我完全尊重每個人的選擇自由。只要他們的選擇適合自己……”
Part of being the world’s number one is that he has become a role model, I say. He nods enthusiastically. “A lot of young people all over the world follow every move I make.” That sounds stressful. “You can look at it from both sides. Is it stressful, or is it a privilege? It gives me strength and energy. For me it is an incredible privilege.”
我說，他之所以有動力要保持世界第一，部分來自於他已成爲一位榜樣。他起勁地點點頭：“在世界各地，有許多年輕人關注我的一舉一動。”聽上去壓力不小。“你可以從兩方面來看。這到底是一種壓力，還是一種榮幸呢？人們的關注給了我力量和活力。對我來說，這是一種極大的榮幸。”
Djokovic is still only nibbling at his lunch. The sushi, as one might expect, is excellent. We drink water. No surprises: this is a man who thinks more than most about what he puts in his body, and when. Another piece of Djokovic mythology: when he was younger, he was often affected in the middle of matches by sudden medical emergencies, occasionally forcing him to pull out of games altogether. It sullied his reputation as he rose through the ranks: the usually polite Federer once called him a “joke”.
德約科維奇還在小口小口地吃着他的午餐。瑪雅灣的壽司果然非常棒。我們的飲料是水，也在意料之中。關於要吃什麼東西，什麼時候吃，這個男人比絕大多數人都慎重。德約科維奇的另一個傳奇故事是，他更年輕的時候，常在比賽中途突發醫療緊急情況，偶爾因此被迫徹底退出比賽。這讓他在升級道路上名聲受損，就連平時溫文爾雅的費德勒都曾稱他是一個“笑話”。
Then, in the middle of one match in Australia, he was seen on television by a doctor, Igor Cetojevic, who was no great tennis fan but who instantly managed to diagnose that Djokovic’s listlessness was a result of his diet. The men met a few months later, leading Djokovic to adopt a new diet, free from gluten, dairy products and processed sugar. The transformation in his health, and his game, was instant and radical.
後來在澳大利亞的一次比賽中，伊戈爾切託耶維奇(Igor Cetojevic)在電視上看見了他。這位醫生不是狂熱的網球迷，但立即診斷出德約科維奇之所以精力不濟，是他的飲食所致。幾個月以後兩個人會了面，德約科維奇從此採用了新的飲食方案：不含麩質、奶製品和加工糖的食品。他的健康狀況立即得到了徹底改善，他的成績同樣如此。
“I had thought that I was eating healthily,” he says, recalling the turning point in 2010. “I didn’t eat junk food, I wasn’t drinking Coca-Cola, no alcohol.” But he concluded that gluten was the culprit. “I thought about it and realised I had eaten it every single day. It is in our culture, that we eat bread with everything. So I had over-consumed it a lot.”
德約科維奇回顧2010年那次轉折點時說道：“我原先以爲自己吃得很健康。我不吃垃圾食品，不喝可口可樂，不沾酒。”結果發現麩質纔是罪魁禍首。“我回想了自己的飲食習慣，發現每天都會吃到它，它包含在我們的文化裏，我們吃所有東西都要搭配麪包。因此我攝入了太多麩質。”
He lost four kilos in a very short time (“which is a lot for a professional athlete”) and was warned that he risked losing energy. Instead of which, he says, “I felt better than I had ever done before: more alert, more aware, more energetic.” This was bad news for the rest of the tennis circuit, who were suddenly confronted by a revivified opponent with superhuman levels of endurance. Since the turnround, Djokovic has contested 16 of the last 21 Grand Slam finals.
他在很短時間內就減掉了4公斤體重，“對於一個職業運動員而言非常多了”，他因而被警告體能會下降。但他說，恰恰相反，“我感覺自己的狀態前所未有的好，我變得更加敏捷，頭腦更加清楚，精力更加充沛。”這對網壇的其他人來說是壞消息，他們突然要面對一個重新振作的、有着超人般耐力的對手。自從這次徹底轉變後，德約科維奇打進了過去21場大滿貫決賽中的16場。
He says his new habits do not constitute a “diet”, rather a new approach to nutrition. “I try to respect everything I put on my plate,” he says. Two years ago, he wrote a book, Serve to Win, a combination of biography, recipe book and self-help manual. Food has become an important hobby for him and his wife. “Nowadays, about 50 per cent of what I eat is raw.” He picks up another piece of sashimi as if to emphasise the point.
德約科維奇說，他的新飲食習慣算不上“食譜”，更像一種新的營養方案。他說：“我儘量重視盤子裏的所有食物。”兩年前他出版了《一發制勝》(Serve to Win)，這本書結合了自傳、食譜以及自助手冊。食物已成了他和妻子的重要愛好。“現在，我吃的東西里大約有一半是生的。”他又拿起一片生魚片，彷彿在強調這一點。
Now here is the problem for us tennis fans, I tell him. We have been spoilt by a golden era. The bar has been set so high by Djokovic and his immediate rivals that we fear a comedown. Where are the future stars of the game, and can they possibly live up to those standards?
我對德約科維奇說，以下的問題是爲我們這些網球迷問的。網壇黃金時代已養大了我們的胃口，德約科維奇和他的對手們設立了如此高的標杆，我們擔心此後出現衰落。網壇的未來之星在哪兒呢？他們能達到這麼高的標準嗎？
“Before the last two years, it was worrying for the tennis world,” he concedes. “The young players were showing potential, but they weren’t coming up. People love Roger, as they do Rafa, but their day will come, as will mine. But in the last two years I think we have seen a lot of future stars. [Borna] Coric, [Nick] Kyrgios...” Ah, wait a minute, I interrupt. He was a little bit of a naughty one, wasn’t he? (The Australian was roundly condemned and fined for making lewd, sledging remarks about Stan Wawrinka’s girlfriend at the US Open.)
德約科維奇承認道：“兩年以前網球界也擔心這個問題。年輕球員展現了潛力，但是當時他們還沒有趕上來。人們喜歡羅傑，喜歡拉法，但他們終有退役的一天，我也一樣。可是過去兩年裏，我認爲我們已經看到了許多未來之星。丘裏奇（博納丘裏奇，Borna Coric）、基爾喬斯（尼克蘒爾喬斯Nick Kyrgios）……”呃，請等一下，我打斷了他。基爾喬斯這個人有點出格吧，是不是？這個澳大利亞人在美網公開賽上用下流的言語侮辱了斯坦瓦林卡(Stan Wawrinka)的女友，以分散對方注意力，因而受到強烈譴責，還被處以罰款。
“Well, he is, but, actually, deep inside, I think he is a very good guy. He has a little bit of an identity crisis, I think. He is still trying to establish himself. I spoke to him in New York. I said, ‘Listen, I know everyone criticised you, and I was one of them,’ and I was happy to tell him that face-to-face. But I wanted to add that I suffered similar things, maybe not to that extent, and it is a very valuable experience. I said, ‘If you ever want to talk to me, I am here and I am willing to help you.’ I practise with him, and I talk to him, and he is a good guy, and really, really talented.”
“這個嘛，他是有點，但從內心深處而言，我認爲他其實是個不錯的小夥子。我覺得他有一點點身份危機。他還在努力立足。我在紐約跟他聊過，我說，‘聽着，我知道每個人都批評你，我也是其中之一。’我很高興能當面告訴他這一點。但我想說的是，我也遭遇過類似的事，或許程度沒這麼嚴重，但這是一段非常寶貴的經驗。我說，‘如果你想跟我聊聊，我就在這兒聽着，我願意幫助你。’我跟他一起練習，還和他聊天，他是個好小夥，而且他真的、真的很有才華。”
We begin our descent. I say that last year I saw his picture on a fresco in the Serbian town of Andricgrad, a massive construction project conceived by the film director Emir Kusturica, with whom Djokovic is friendly. I ask him what it was like to be a rising sports star, with strong patriotic feelings, in the 1990s, in the middle of the wars in Yugoslavia, when those very feelings were being condemned in the wider world.
我們的飛機開始下降。我講起去年我在塞爾維亞的“安德里奇城”(Andricgrad)一幅壁畫上看到他的照片。安德里奇城是電影導演埃米爾錠斯圖裏卡(Emir Kusturica)發起的一個龐大的建設項目，德約科維奇與他是好友。我問德約科維奇，作爲一名有着強烈愛國情懷的冉冉升起的體育明星，他在20世紀90年代的南斯拉夫戰爭期間有什麼感受。當時塞爾維亞人的愛國情懷在全球都受到譴責。
“It was one of the toughest times in the history of the Serbian people,” he replies. “There were lines of people queueing for bread every day. In 1999 during the Nato bombings our lives were in danger every day. They killed many innocent people for no reason.”
德約科維奇回答道：“這是塞爾維亞人民史上最艱難的時刻之一。每天人們都要大排長隊去買麪包。1999年北約(Nato)轟炸期間，我們每天都生活在危險中。他們沒緣由地殺死了許多無辜百姓。”
Those events “helped me to become the person I am today. They made me mentally stronger. They made me hungry for success. They stay inside your heart, always. You can’t forget them. The only way is to move on, forgive, use that experience as a positive reinforcement.” He returns to the subject of fear. “If you can channel it in the right way, fear will turn to strength.”
這些事件“讓我成爲現在的樣子。它們讓我意志更加堅強，讓我渴求勝利。這些事永遠存留在你心間，你不可能忘記。你唯一能做的就是繼續前進，寬恕，利用這段經歷作爲一種正強化。”他又談回恐懼的話題，“如果你能以正確方式加以引導，恐懼也能變成力量。”
The plane lands, and we part ways. Later in the afternoon, I watch Djokovic as he arrives at the club in Monaco. He is unfailingly polite, and charms his audience. Adults and children alike pose for selfies. He is in role-model mode, playing the part to perfection. The thought occurs to me that, rather than go down in history as the third man, he may actually transcend the archetypal qualities of both of his rivals: even more gracious than Federer, still steelier than Nadal.
飛機落地了，我們二人分道揚鑣。當天下午稍晚時候，我看到德約科維奇抵達摩納哥俱樂部。他依然是彬彬有禮，令他的觀衆着迷，大人小孩都與他合影自拍。他進入了“榜樣”模式，完美地扮演着這一角色。我突然想到，德約科維奇不會作爲“第三人”載入史冊，實際上他的個人特色可能已經超越了兩位對手的典型特質，他比費德勒更親切，比納達爾更堅定。
At one point he approaches the extravagantly laden refreshment table, picks up a 2 sq cm fragment of pizza, and pops it into his mouth. I turn to Greg Rusedski, a former British player, who is master of ceremonies for the event. “Don’t pizzas have gluten in them?” I ask mischievously. Rusedski replies with a broad smile. “Sometimes I think you’ve got to let go a bit,” he says. Such wild behaviour is not unprecedented: Djokovic celebrated his Australian Open win in 2012 with a single square of chocolate.
他一度走近擺滿茶點的食品臺，拿起一片2平方釐米的披薩丟進口中。我轉身問旁邊的前英國球員格雷格脠府德斯基(Greg Rusedski)，他是此次活動的主持。我戲謔的問：“比薩里不是有麩質嗎？”魯塞德斯基報之以大笑，他說：“我覺得人有時候要放開點。”德約科維奇此前也有過這種“瘋狂行徑”，2012年，德約科維奇爲慶祝澳網公開賽奪冠，吃掉了一塊巧克力。
The time comes for our knock. I am in a long line of NetJets clients. We will each get one to two minutes each. There is an audience of about 200 people, sipping champagne, and watching us more carefully than I was hoping. It comes to my turn, and I am trying to turn fear into strength. We have a gentle rally, which he allows me to “win” by not moving towards the ball at all. In a blatant piece of gamesmanship, he says he likes my “game face”. I regain my composure, ratchet up the intensity, and shorten the next rally with a rasping volley which goes exactly where I meant it to, somewhat to my surprise. There is a ripple of applause. It is one of the most dreamlike moments of my life.
我們約好的切磋時刻來到了。我站在NetJets客戶長長的隊伍裏，我們每人分得了一兩分鐘時間。觀衆約有200人，他們邊喝香檳邊看着我們，認真程度超過我預期。輪到我上場了，我努力將恐懼轉化成力量。我們先溫和地對攻了一球，在德約科維奇完全不挪動腳步的前提下，我“贏”了。然後他公然發動干擾策略，說他喜歡我的“比賽臉”。我恢復鎮靜，漸漸加大擊球力度，用一記截擊球迅速拿下一分。球就落在我設想的位置上，我自己都有點意外。場外響起一陣掌聲，這是我一生中最美妙的時刻之一。
He comes to the net to shake hands. “In the moment!” I say to him. “In the moment!” he replies, laughing, and turns briskly back to the baseline to face his next opponent.
德約科維奇來到網前跟我握手。“專注當下！”我對他說。他笑了，迴應道：“專注當下！”然後轉身輕快地走回底線，等待下一個對手。
