Novak Djokovic’s father, Srdjan, recently opened up about his son’s upbringing in difficult circumstances. He highlighted his role and asserted that he believed in Novak more than Novak believed in himself.
The former World No. 1, who is one of the greatest players of all time, had a rough childhood, as he grew up in a war-torn country. His family, comprising parents and three sons, had extremely limited resources, but still decided to support Novak in following his passion.
In a recent video on Novak Djokovic Foundation’s Instagram, Srdjan said he made a few mistakes but wouldn’t want to change anything.
“I made mistakes along the way, for sure. Several times during his development, both as a person and as an athlete. But I wouldn’t change anything. I would do everything the same. Because without that harshness, without that perseverance, without that unwavering faith I had that everything would turn out well, that he would succeed, none of this would have happened. No one believed in him as much as I did, not even himself. He didn’t have as much faith in himself,” he said.
Novak Djokovic today holds several records, including the highest number of Grand Slams in the Open Era, 24, and the most weeks at No. 1, 428.
“Novak Djokovic Was Maybe the Most Difficult” – Former Player Weighs in on the GOAT Debate
Roger Federer‘s former coach, Ivan Ljubicic, retired in 2012 and played all the members of the Big 3. The Croatian recently described what it was like to face Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic,
Speaking on the “Off Court with Greg” podcast, Ljubicic revealed that he did not struggle much against Nadal as the Spaniard stood far back on return and did not serve big. The former player said that Federer’s game had a lot of variety, and thus it was a big challenge to face him.
As for Djokovic, Ljubicic said (via The Tennis Gazette):
“When Novak was on, it was maybe the most difficult for me, because me having a big serve and relying on a lot of free points on my serve, with him, it was just not possible. So you would feel that you would just get strangled, because he doesn’t hit winners, he just pushes you left and right, and you never have a clean shot. You don’t even find yourself in a situation where you can take a risk.”
Giving his verdict on all three stars, Ljubicic said:
“They are different. It’s really difficult to say who is better. Obviously, Novak won the most, but for me, the impact that Roger had on the game, and Rafa in different moments, is huge. Maybe bigger than Novak.”
The Big 3 dominated the tour for almost two decades. While Federer and Nadal have retired, Djokovic is still active and doing well.
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