As two of the most successful and recognizable athletes in the world, top-ranked Serbian tennis phenom Novak Djokovic and Australian golf champion Adam Scott aren’t unfamiliar with fans analyzing their every move. During this year’s U.S. Open, 11.7 million viewers watched the 26-year-old Djokovic compete for the championship trophy, and more than 44.3 million tuned in to witness Scott claim victory at the 2013 Masters.
One thing’s for sure: These two gentlemen perform exceptionally well under pressure. How similar are they otherwise? For starters, they’re both pop-culture personalities, philanthropists and global ambassadors for brands including Uniqlo. (That’s not to mention their shared status as sex symbols, which the 33-year-old Scott calls “very strange,” because his focus is primarily on the sport.) Since they spend so much of their time silently doing battle on tennis courts and golf courses, DuJour decided to put Djokovic and Scott through a quick-fire questionnaire. There’s at least one thing they both agree on: beer trumps whiskey. Their other answers—plus a video from our interview—below.
Novak Djokovic VS. Adam Scott
Your first indulgent purchase?
Novak Djokovic: A present for my brothers. Just a clothing item–you can imagine how low my prize money was at the time.
Adam Scott: A Mercedes. It was fun, but you live to regret those impulse buys.
One skill you haven’t mastered?
ND: Cooking, even though I should be better at it.
AS: I can’t sing a lick. I’d love to, but I’m terrible. Novak’s good though. I’ve seen videos on YouTube of him singing.
Bring any keepsakes from home with you on the road?
ND: A bracelet with all the holy icons on it. My mom and my brothers give them to me. It’s something that reminds me of home.
AS: I use a dollar coin from Australia to mark my golf ball on the green, so that’s in my golf bag all the time. There are lots of things that I miss about Australia–Vegemite, meat pies and iced coffees.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
ND: Being able to teleport. To go from one place to another in a split second rather than taking a plane for a whole day.
AS: I think flying has got to be the way to go.
The most talented celebrity you’ve competed against?
ND: Kate Hudson. At a charity gala dinner in London, she took a tennis racket and showed some incredible skills with it. She impressed me very much.
AS: Kelly Slater. He’s really good. Probably the best non-golfer I’ve played with.
Any famous faces you want to challenge?
ND: I played with De Niro last year and he was great–very passionate about tennis. So I’d like to play him again.
AS: I’d like to get on the course with Bill Clinton. I know he’s a pretty keen golfer. I’ve had the chance to meet him a few times, and I think he’s fascinating.
Your weirdest fan interaction?
ND: In China, one of the fans changed his name to a Serbian name. He was waiting at the hotel every day [of the China Open]. We got there and he was singing the Serbian national anthem word for word fluently. So that was interesting.
AS: When I came back [to Australia] after winning the Masters, things got completely out of hand, almost violent. Kids were being exploited, getting paid to get autographs. That was pretty weird for me.
Watch a video from our interview below:
On Djokovic: Sweater, $40; Heattech T-shirt, $13; pants, $40, UNIQLO, uniqlo.com. Royal Oak Offshore Arnold Schwarzenegger The Legacy watch, $47,200, AUDEMARS PIGUET, audemarspiguet.com. On Scott: Button-down shirt, $30; Heattech T-shirt, $13; jeans, $20, UNIQLO. Oyster Perpetual Explorer watch, $6,550, ROLEX, rolex.com.
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