While the tennis world anxiously awaits the sister vs. sister showdown between Venus and Serena Williams Tuesday night, there is one person who won't revel in it -- Novak Djokovic.
The world No. 1 spoke to reporters after his four-set fourth-round victory against Roberto Bautista Agut on Sunday and said it would be "hard to watch" Serena and Venus go head-to-head on Tuesday, no matter how much he respects the sisters.
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"It's admiration. But for me, somebody who has siblings, it's hard to watch, honestly, as well," Djokovic said, according to ESPN. "It's just going after each other and after that going back to the same home like nothing happened. ... I respect them, the fact that they're able to kind of switch off and be on the court regardless who is across the net. They're great for the sport, no question about it, don't get me wrong. But I can't talk about their rivalry."
These two siblings will clash for the 27th time in their careers and the first time since their fourth-round meeting at Wimbledon. Serena won that Wimbledon match and has a favorable 15-11 record against her sister, which includes wins in seven of their last eight meetings.
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The two sisters meet with a calendar-Slam attempt on the line for the very first time as Serena is three wins shy of the feat. Steffi Graf was the last person to do so in 1988.
While the match is sure to be heavily discussed and debated heading into Tuesday, Djokovic was in no mood to discuss it.
"The first thing that comes to my mind is how would I feel to play my brother, and I don't think that would be possible, honestly," Djokovic said. "I, in a way, admire what they're doing, for so many years to play against each other on such a big stage.
"It's strange, you know. They are sisters. They live together. They grew up together playing tennis. Of course they love each other, but then very have to be professional and go out on the court and play each other so many times in the finals of Grand Slams, in the biggest matches."
So when Venus and Serena take the court opposite one another on Tuesday, they'll be doing something Djokovic could never dream of.
"I don't know if I'll be able to play my brother. It's not possible," he said. "I would not be able to handle [that] on the court."
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