The credit shortage for Novak Djokovic doesn't pi** me off as much as the hate poison on social media: Reilly Opelka's father George

Reilly Opelka's father, George Opelka, recently shared his perspective on World No. 1 Novak Djokovic allegedly receiving more criticism than credit.

Djokovic has made a huge impact on the tennis world for almost two decades. He has helped several young players realize their dreams and done a lot of charity work too. But he is often perceived to be less popular than his rivals, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Vasek Pospisil, co-founder of the Novak Djokovic-led PTPA, recently expressed his strong sentiments about this in an interview with Smashing Rackets. The Canadian said that it "pi**es him off" to see the Serb facing criticism despite his extensive contributions.

"Novak doesn’t get enough credit & it pi**es me off. He’s such a good guy. Everybody can act like they’re an angel when the cameras are rolling & they can say that right things & this & that. It’s like how you are when there are no cameras around & how you are with people around in general," he said.

"I mean, he’s so generous and I don’t know if it’s my place to say this but he helps juniors in Serbia, he’s financing, he’s helping, he really cares. And that’s because of, I guess, his upbringing & what he went through to get to where he is & he has appreciation of the grind, how hard it is & how skewed everything is like against the players. It comes from a genuine place. He’s trying to help these players in the sport," he added.

George Opelka, Reilly Opelka's father, appeared to agree with Pospisil's views. He took to X (previously Twitter) to claim that he doesn't mind Djokovic not receiving enough praise, but does get bothered by the allegedly recurring hatred for him on social media platforms.

"The locker room knows. The credit shortage doesn’t pi** me off as much as the H8 poison on social media directed at Novak, unwarranted for the reasons Vasek mentions. Novak’s body of work will continue to evolve and tell his story. Critical to stay the course so tennis wins," George wrote.

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Novak Djokovic withdraws from the Shanghai Masters 2023

Novak Djokovic pictured at the 2023 Davis Cup Finals

Novak Djokovic has had an extremely busy few weeks, earning his record 24th Grand Slam title at the US Open and helping his nation reach the 2023 Davis Cup quarterfinals.

The World No. 1 recently took to social media to announce his withdrawal from the upcoming Shanghai Masters, which begins on October 2. He said he would miss his fans in China but that he hoped to return in the future.

"Over the years, some of the best support I receive anywhere in the world is in China. Shanghai has always been one of my favourite tournaments in the season. I will be missing my #NoleFam in China. I hope that I can come back to China in the future and play in front of all of you again," Djokovic said.

The tournament in China is the season's penultimate Masters 1000 event. It will feature stars such as Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, and Jannik Sinner, among others.

This year is the first time the ATP Tour has returned to the Asian country since 2019.