The Incredible Story Of Novak Djokovic

Is Novak Djokovic the best ever? You tell me. Picture this. It's the early hours of the morning. You are tucked cozily in bed, when you are awakened by the sound of an explosion, air raid sirens and planes overhead. Your mother is laying unresponsive on the floor, with your father desperately trying to wake her. Before you can wipe the tears from your eyes, you are rushed onto a cold, pitch black street. The screams of the city are echoing in your ears, with a road shaking beneath your feet. This is not in fact an opening scene to a Steven Spielberg epic, nor is it a snapshot of the Battle of Britain. This was the reality for hundreds of thousands of Serbians, including a young Novak Djokovic during the 1999 NATO bombings of Yugoslavia, better known as Serbia today. The destruction of the country spanned 78 days, with Djokovic himself recalling fighter jets flying overhead during his 12th birthday party at a local tennis club. This became the norm for young Djokovic. Hiding in bomb shelters, practicing his backhand against shattered walls, with the deafening tone of fighter jets becoming the soundtrack for daily life. Despite being incredibly traumatic for all involved, he stated that we were lucky not to lose anyone that was very close to us. There were a lot of people who lost close ones in their lives. That's a different level of suffering, a different level of trauma. Growing up in a war zone was one of many setbacks for the future champion. The obsession for Novak since he was a young boy had been tennis. He was gifted a small racket and a foam ball, which his father claimed to be the most beloved toy in his life. He officially began playing at age 4. His family invested their savings into sending Novak to numerous tennis camps during the early years. He caught the eye of tennis professional Jelena Jensic, who stated that the young boy was the greatest talent she had seen since Monika Celis. Jenic became an early mentor for Novak, and just 8 years later, his obsession would be the silver lining in an otherwise miserable decade. The family packed their bags and moved to Germany, so Djokovic could attend a tennis academy and began the ascent to professional status. The move wasn't as obvious as it might seem today, with his family being offered a very tempting opportunity to live, train and represent England in a sponsorship type deal. Novak's parents seriously considered this, as it would have solved many problems, including higher education and job security. However, his mother stated, you cannot sell your soul and what you are. We knew Novak would not play for the United Kingdom as passionately as he plays for his country. With all of his heart, Novak imposed his name on the international scene at around age 14, where he won major tournaments in rapid succession. This included the European Championship singles and doubles titles, while also representing his country in the Junior Davis Cup team. It was only a matter of time until he achieved his dream of becoming a professional in 2003. The priority during these pivotal years was to build a good foundation of experience on multiple surfaces, while also training the mind to stay focused and handle adversity, which would inevitably come his way if he wanted to succeed in the sport. He first qualified for a major tournament in 2005. Although his Grand Slam experience didn't last long, when Marat Safin eliminated him in the first round. It wouldn't be until the following year, however, until Novak looked for outside guidance and expert coaching to get him to the next level. He recruited fellow countryman Marian Vajda, who would become his primary coach for the next seven years. Vajda's coaching undoubtedly helped Novak develop his game, as he eventually won his first Grand Slam in 2008, with a handy Olympic bronze medal in the process. He was now a top-10 player and household name in the world of tennis. However, Djokovic did hit a plateau in the pursuit of becoming world number one, struggling against the likes of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. It was during the 2010 Australian Open, when Dr. Igor Chechovic became very evident of the struggles Djokovic was having on the court. So he decided to reach out to his parents with some intriguing solutions to Novak's otherwise impressive game. These solutions started from the ground up, with focused attention on diet and how his body responded to what he put in his body. The process of implementing a good routine began, as he started optimizing every part of preparation and recovery. Djokovic also added habits like yoga, conscious breathing, and meditation over time to gain further mental clarity on and off the court. This was evident, as he led Team Serbia to their first ever Davis Cup win in the same year. A remarkable turnaround of form for any player. 2011 was the pivotal year in which all the pieces finally came together, winning 43 matches in a row and breaking through the plateau to become world number one. Djokovic also clinched three more major championships in the process, these being his beloved Australian Open, US Open and Wimbledon Championship. Former champion Pete Sampras called his 2011 season one of the best achievements in all of the sports, while Nadal referred to it as probably the highest level of tennis that I ever saw. The young, fresh-faced Serb was full of confidence and had the world at his fingertips. He won the Australian Open consecutively in the next two years, before former world number one Boris Becker took over the main coaching role in 2013, arguably taking him to an even higher level of tennis in the years to come. It was from 2012 to 2015 in which Djokovic continually won the ATP World Tour titles, while steadily notching an impressive number of major titles in what most would consider a short period of time. Important metrics when working out the greatness of a player is 1. How many major titles have they won? 2. How have they responded to adversity on the court? 3. How long were they at the top of their game? To all these questions, Djokovic has proved himself time and time again, so it was inevitable that his name would eventually come up when discussing the greatest of all time. He's not overly flashy, he doesn't do anything extraordinary, he simply makes less mistakes than everyone else and has done it consistently for over a decade, from forcing his way onto the global stage as a talented teenager, to defeating the unbeatable Rafael Nadal on clay. Outperforming the competition, including those who were once considered the best to ever play, will always make your success pretty undeniable. The rivalries he has with Nadal and Federer were and still are incredibly entertaining, as we get to be reminded how lucky we are to be living in this golden era of tennis. This is coming from a diehard Federer fan. If you ever need reminding, I recommend you watch the 2012 6-hour Australian Open epic, maybe just watch the highlights, to which Djokovic went to war with Nadal, or the 2019 Wimbledon final where Novak fought off two championship points from Federer and had just about everyone in the crowd rooting against him in the second longest Grand Slam final in history. Love him or hate him, the numbers don't lie. At the time of making this video, Djokovic has sat at world number one for 338 consecutive weeks and is one Grand Slam away from overtaking both Federer and Nadal for the most Grand Slam titles by any player in history. So what is it that separates him from the rest? Whenever asked this question, Novak refers back to his mindset. My upbringing in Serbia was during several wars in the 90s, a difficult time, embargo in our country, where we had to wait in line for bread, milk, water, and some basic things in life. These kinds of things make you stronger and more hungry for success, I think, in whatever you choose to do. That probably has been my foundation, the very fact that I came from literally nothing and difficult life circumstances together with my family and with my people. Other than mindset, I would suggest that having pure love for the game is a crucial piece to the puzzle. No one can stay at the top and continue to improve without genuine love for what you do. Love for the game, discipline, mindset, and doing what most aren't willing to do has paid dividends for Novak Djokovic. That will do us for the incredible life story of Novak Djokovic. Do you have a favorite Novak match or moment? Let us know in the comments below and we will see you in the next video.