What Do We Know About Novak Djokovic?
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Novak Djokovic is a Serbian tennis player who is simply one of the best in the business. He was born in Belgrade, Serbia, on May 22, 1987, and is currently the No. 1 tennis player in the world as per the Association of Tennis Professionals rankings. He has been at the helm of the rankings for a record total of 318 weeks. Djokovic is undoubtedly one of the most popular sportspersons in the world.
He was born to Srdan Djokovic and Dijana Djokovic. His two younger brothers, Marko and Djordje, have also played professional tennis. He started playing the game when he was just four. Thanks to his parents, who decided to send him to a tennis camp in Novi Sad. He was just six years old when he went to a tennis camp organized by the Teniski Klub Partizan and overseen by Yugoslav tennis player Jelena GenÄić. GenÄić was impressed with the skillset Djokovic possessed at such an early age.
She continued to see Djokovic players for the next six years, and the latter progressed significantly during that period. After primary training, a 13-year-old Djokovic moved to the Pilić tennis academy in Oberschleißheim, Germany, in 1993 and spent almost four years training there. The start tennis player was just 14 when he started his international career and won European championships in singles, doubles, and team competition. He continued to excel under the coaching and guidance of former Slovak tennis player Marián Vajda who was replaced by Boris Becker in 2013.
The geography of the country Djokovic comes from is really complicated. That can be determined from his representations at different levels. At the junior level, he represented the Yugoslavia national team. He reached the final of the 2001 Junior Davis Cup for players under 14. However, he lost the match in singles. He reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open in 2004. Also, He played at the French Open and US Open junior events in 2003.
The major stepping stone in Djokovic's career came in 2003 when he turned professional by entering the ATP World Tour. He won three futures and Challenger tournaments each between 2003 and 2005 before featuring in Umag. The first Grand Slam appearance for Djokovic came after he qualified for the 2005 Australian Open. Still, he lost to Marat Safin in the first round. Next, he reached the third round of Wimbledon and US open each, and the graph has only gone upwards since then.
The first major achievement in his career came in 2006 when he reached the top 40 in the world singles rankings after reaching the quarterfinals of the French Open. Meanwhile, reports emerged that Djokovic was considering moving from Serbia to Great Britain to improve his rankings. Still, he refuted all such claims and continued to play for Serbia.
Important Facts About Djokovic
1. He is the only player who has beaten both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the same tournament, not once but on three different occasions.
2. He is the first-ever player to win three consecutive Australian Open titles.
3. He is the first-ever Serbian male player to have won a Grand slam title.
4. He has the best winning rate in the world at 83.33%.
5. Djokovic loves learning different languages, and he can speak four different languages- Serbian, English, Italian, and German.
6. Djokovic loves Pizza, but unfortunately, he can't have one as he is allergic to Gluten.
7. He has won 18 Grand Slam men's singles titles and 82 ATP singles titles overall to date.
8. He is the only player to win all of the "Big Titles" on the modern-day ATP Tour.
Personal Life
Novak Djokovic is married to Jelena Djokovic. The two got married on July 10, 2014, after dating for some time. They have a son named Stefan, born nearly 3 months after their marriage on October 21, 2014.
The net worth of Djokovic is estimated at over $220 million. $144 million of his net worth comes directly from prize winnings. He currently lives in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Three of the biggest rivalries in the game are that When Djokovic plays against Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray.
One thing that is common between Federer and Djokovic is their habit of inviting controversies. The first big controversy of Djokovic's career erupted when he said he was against equal pay for women tennis players.
He was disqualified in the US Open 4th round on September 6, 2020, after he hit a line judge with a ball following a point as the first set of the match against Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain.