Novak Đoković

Novak Djoković, who became the Number 1 tennis player in the world in 2011, secured his place in the history of this sport after a series of 41 wins and three Grand Slam titles in one year.

In the entire history of tennis nobody had ever had a raw of 41 victories and tree Grand Slam titles won in just one year until the world saw what the Serbian tennis player Novak Djoković could do.

It’s difficult to list all the titles won at the tournaments. He has won three Australian Open titles and his very first Wimbledon and US Open title. For now. He was also named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year in 2011.

However, when in 1994 a cute boy with a hat and a tennis racket said in a kids’ show that his life goal was to become a champion one day, a few believed him. Nevertheless, he believed! He went to school, he trained, wrote his homework and managed to play only at night, as he once admitted.

Soon the first longer absence from home, other countries, foreign languages, and new trainers followed… And then came the first victories and trophies, but also the first defeats, injuries… Still, the boy believed – one day he will be the number one!

And in 2011 he did just that – Novak Djoković became world’s Number 1 tennis player!

Perhaps the faith of Novak Djoković was written upon his birth on May 22nd, 1987 in Belgrade, in a family of sportsmen and women.

His father Srdjan and mother Dijana were skiing instructors and they didn’t oppose when their oldest son, fourteen year old Novak, expressed a desire to start playing tennis.

Novak conquered his first tennis web on the tennis courts at Kopaonik mountain where his family was living at the time and that was when Jelena Genčić, his first trainer, spotted his talent.

She remembers the day when this silent and polite boy came to the training carrying a bag that he had packed himself, as if for a professional training, and said that when he grew up, he would be the Number one in tennis.

The sacrifices followed both for Novak, who went to school and trained at the same time, and for his parents, who were trying to educate their son to be a professional sportsman at the most difficult time for Serbia. Novak was always away from home attending tennis schools abroad, changing coaches…

However, the first results came – as a fourteen year old, Novak Djoković became the three-time European champion – singles, doubles and team, and after five ITF tournaments, he became the 40th best junior tennis player in the world.

In 2003 playing with the national team he became Europe’s best player, under the age of 16. This season would also be remembered by his first professional tennis match. In June 2003 he beat the fourth seed at his first Futures tournament and earned his first ATP point. Nevertheless, the fame came later.

Novak Djoković made a decision to devote to professional tennis in 2005. In 2007 he was inside the top 10 players in the world. The titles came one after another and after winning in the finals at the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, he earned his first most significant title.

It became clear even to a greatest skeptic that a lot can be expected from the cheerful and witty young man from Belgrade. And Novak continued training, being himself and striving towards his goal – to be the Number 1!

Those were the years when Serbia was writing the history of tennis in golden letters – suddenly a generation of tennis players, who didn’t know what the defeat was, came from this small country in the Balkans, the country that till then had mostly appeared in the world news in not so positive reports.

Janko Tipsarević, Nenad Zimonjić, Viktor Troicki, Jelena Janković, Ana Ivanović and Novak Djoković held all the titles existing in the “white sport”. This includes the bronze at the Olimpics in Beijing in 2008, won by Novak Djoković. By the end of 2010 the triumph came when the men’s national team of Serbia won the most important team title in tennis – the Davis Cup.

And the boy’s dream came true on July 4th 2011, when Novak Djoković became the Number 1 at the ATP list and officialy the best tennis player in the world at the time.

It seems that all the medals, money and glory didn’t effect Novak Djoković. He’s still smiling, always in a mood for fun and company, diligent, hardworking and above all – grateful for all the support and love given to him by his closest friends and family and all those who spend hours patiently watching his matches. Those qualities have, above all, made him the most popular Serb on the planet.