Novak Djokovic is undoubtedly one of the greatest and most decorated players of all time. Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer alongside with Rafael Nadal hold the most Grand Slams – 20. He had a chance to surpass his opponents but unfortunately lost to Daniil Medvedev in the 2021 US Open final, which would have also been a calendar Grand Slam – the feat no one achieved in the Open Era. He is a versatile player, with a strong mentality and focus.
Novak Djokovic was born in 1987 in Serbia to a family of professional skiers. Since childhood, he has been involved in sports a lot: in the winter he participated in cross-country skiing, in the summer he played football, and in the off-season, he played tennis. When he was 6, Yugoslav tennis player Elena Gencic, who once coached Monica Seles, the former number one in the world, noticed Novak and began to develop his talent. When the tennis player turned 13, he went to train at the legendary Pilic Academy in Munich, and a year later began an international career.
At the age of 14, Novak Djokovic became a three-time European champion in singles, doubles and teams. When the athlete turned 18, he won his first ATP-tour tournament and entered the top 100 tennis players of the Association of Tennis Professionals, and a year later he climbed into the top ten of the ranking. Then his career flew up even faster. In 2011, Djokovic topped the ATP rating for the first time and since then has remained the leader of men’s tennis for almost 2/3 of the time.
After the 2021 Wimbledon final, he became the first tennis player in history to win all Grand Slam tournaments twice: the Serb has nine titles at the Australian Open, two at Roland Garros, six at Wimbledon and three at the US Open. In addition, Djokovic is the record holder for major tennis titles.
In his personal life, Novak Djokovic has succeeded no less than in professional tennis. He met his future wife Elena Ristic while still in high school. In 2005, they began dating, although soon after graduation they were separated by distance: Novak trained in Serbia, and Elena entered the Bocconi University in Milan. When the tennis player’s beloved graduated from university in 2011, they moved together to Monte Carlo, where Djokovic could train all year round. After 3 years, they legalized the relationship and became the parents of their first child – the son of Stephen. In 2017, Novak and Elena had a daughter, Tara.
Novak Djokovic is an Orthodox Christian (he considers this title the most important in his life) and provides assistance to dozens of churches in Kosovo and Metohija, for which he was awarded the Order of St. Sava. In 2007, the tennis player opened the Novak Djokovic Foundation, which makes education available to children from low-income families, and also covers the travel expenses of young Serbian athletes participating in international competitions.
Novak Djokovic is not just a brilliant athlete, but also a very versatile person. Like his rival Roger Federer, Novak is a polyglot and speaks six languages: his native Serbian, English, German, Italian, Slovak and French. He knows nutrition, adores dogs, and is a serious fan of AC Milan. Plus, Djokovic definitely has a humorous talent. In the early 2010s, the tennis player was called the Joker for his famous parodies of colleagues: in his collection, there were grotesque caricatures of the style of play of Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova and Andy Roddick.
