Suryakumar Yadav visits Wimbledon, names Djokovic and Dhoni as sporting inspirations

India's T20 skipper Suryakumar Yadav made his first visit to Wimbledon and shared admiration for Novak Djokovic and MS Dhoni. SKY spoke about mental strength, sport similarities, and revealed how his wife helped him prepare for the iconic event.

Hyderabad: India T20 Captain Suryakumar Yadav was the latest Indian cricketer to stop by at the Wimbledon tennis championship in London and he said he would watch tennis quite a bit on television.

“I’ve always heard about the atmosphere around Centre Court, especially the moment you walk in. I am here to experience that surreal feeling in person,” Sky informed JioHotstar.

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On watching tennis at Wimbledon for the first time and the inspiration behind his suit, Surya Kumar said this was his first experience and that he wanted to get everything right.

“Honestly, my wife really takes care of me. She has been behind me for the last three or four days, helping me decide what to wear to this wonderful tournament. So many people have turned out in numbers, I am one of them, just here to experience the same thing they are,” he explained.

On the stars he was eagerly awaiting to watch, the dashing India player said he would have definitely come to watch Novak Djokovic. “I have been following his career for a very long time. I even read his book ‘Serve to Win’, which really inspired me,” he said.

“I made my international cricket debut a little later in life, though not quite as late as 30, but I could really relate to his journey and perseverance. The way he keeps going is phenomenal,” Surya Kumar said.

On his favourite tennis players, past and present, SKY said that if they were talking about Wimbledon specifically, then definitely Pete Sampras and Roger Federer. “ I remember how the crowd would go crazy when either of them turned up here. But my all-time favourite is obviously Novak Djokovic. And currently, I would say Carlos Alcaraz, he has been a wildfire on the court,” he said.

On the parallels between tennis and cricket, the explosive batter said that he felt there were a lot of similarities between cricket and elite tennis.

“Mental toughness plays a crucial role in both. There is also a lot of endurance involved. In cricket, we keep running the same 20-25 metres repeatedly, and it is similar in tennis as well. So, I would say strong mental resolve and endurance are the two big common factors,” he said.

On which cricketer he would pick as a doubles partner, SKY said it would definitely be MS Dhoni. “He has got speed, a lot of endurance, he is mentally very tough, and recently, whenever he is not playing cricket, I have seen him playing a lot of tennis. So yes, without a doubt, it would be MS Dhoni,” he said.