A recent promotional video for the 2023 Wimbledon Championships did not feature seven-time champion Novak Djokovic, and this omission caught the attention of several, including renown coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
Wimbledon published a promotional video titled "Always Like Never Before." It featured the likes of Roger Federer, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Serena and Venus Williams, Coco Gauff, Ons Jabeur, Nick Kyrgios, Andy Murray, Carlos Alcaraz, Elena Rybakina, and others.
However, the video did not feature Djokovic, who is the seven-time defending champion. This omission caught the eye of former professional and tennis commentator, Mark Petchey.
"Where is Novak Djokovic?", he asked on Twitter.
This prompted a response from Mouratoglou, who also seemed perplexed at the omission.
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
Over the generations, we've witnessed iconic rivalries, triumphant feats and heroic defeats.
But while the names may change, the drama remains.
New storylines await us, and #Wimbledon will once again be Always Like Never Before ✨