* Djokovic and Padukone were spotted together at LA eatery in March 2016 * Reports of domestic troubles appearing between Djokovic and wife Jelena Ristic have surfaced. * John McEnroe compared the Serbian with Tiger Woods and his personal issues.
Tennis star Novak Djokovic's ex-girlfriend Lidija Popovic has made a sensational claim saying that the Serbian ace will be far happier dating Bollywood's own Deepika Padukone.
According to a report by British tabloid Daily Mail, Popvic was linked to Djokovic while he was still with his now wife Jelena Ristic. Djokovic and Ristic were together for 10 years before they got married in 2014. The couple has a 3-year-old son Stefan and Ristic is pregnant with their second child.
Padukone and Djokovic were spotted together in March 2016 in Los Angeles. Padukone was shooting for her movie xXx: Return of Xander Cage.
At the time, Djokovic had told the media that Padukone was a friend of wife Ristic. According to the tabloid, Ristic was not part of the night out that day.
But Padukone was spotted talking to Ristic during the Wimbledon finals in July 2015
Before that, she had played an exhibition doubles match with Djokovic in 2014's International Premier Tennis League. Bollywood stars Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh were part of the promotional event along with Roger Federer, Sania Mirza, and cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar.
Former tennis player and current BBC commentator for Wimbledon, John McEnroe had compared Djokovic troubles with Ristic to that of Tiger Woods and his ex-wife Elin Nordegren.
McEnroe had said, "Djokovic had some off-court issues with the family", adding: "That's going to throw you. If you're distracted you're not the same player."
"The person that comes to mind immediately with Novak is golfer Tiger Woods," McEnroe, 58, told the BBC. "He had the issues with his wife, he seemed to go completely off the rails and has never been even close to the same player."
When Djokovic was asked by journalists about the American's comments after his Wimbledon second-round victory against Adam Pavlasek on Thursday.
He said he did not take the remarks personally.
"I really don't take it in a negative way anyhow. It's fine. He has his right to say the things he wants to say. I don't necessarily need to agree with that. But it's his right," the 30-year-old told a news conference. "I don't know where was the basis, and he was just maybe making a comparison. I'm not really sure."
"He's very well known for his, you know, kind of bold comments and not really caring too much about being politically correct but saying whatever is on his mind," Djokovic added.
"I always got along very well with John. You know, I guess whether that's his opinion or criticism or something else, I'm not really sure. But in the end of the day, I respect everything he says."
(With Agencies Inputs)
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