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back in 2016, General Novak Djokovic Having won two Grand Slams, his manager Eduardo Artaldi, in a rare interview, spoke about an embarrassing long-running affair. Artaldi had demonstrated how Djokovic dealt with boos when playing Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Italian marketer Dudu told friends that, unlike in the past, Djokovic made peace with whoops and whoops. He told sport360.com “Roger is more or less at the end of his career…and they (the fans) want to see Roger win another Slam…Nole probably has more time ahead of him.” It was his way of saying the fans would come. How long can you not cheer for the winner?
Cut to 2023 and Djokovic, with 23 slams, became the undisputed goat. Federer and Nadal semi-retired. Everything Dudu said was fulfilled, but what he hoped was not.
On that day at Wimbledon, 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz exploded like the wind, knocking out Djokovic and sweeping the tennis world off its feet. The mood on Center Court was a throwback to the days of Federer Djokovic. There were howls of protest when the Serb took extra minutes between the points, they tried to distract him as he tossed the ball to serve and the shouting intensified as he smashed his racket into the goal. The tragic reality of men’s tennis hasn’t changed for Djokovic – the greatest tennis player of all time wasn’t the most popular.
By supporting Alcaraz, Wimbledon were carrying on a long tradition of supporting the underdog. However, by refusing a five-time champion, they were against the agreement. In 2021, when Federer lost in straight sets to Hubert Hurkacz, a rookie from Poland, the center collectively tried to push the Swiss star out of the hole. They have crossed the line of decency. They vexed the youngster, applauded his mistakes, and one die-hard RF fan even asked for “one more year” as Federer left the court for good.
Why these double standards? Djokovic also appeared to ask the same question in Center Court on Sunday. When chants of “Carlos, Carlos” hit the air at Wimbledon during the rousing final set, the Serb looked across the court for love. Like many times before, his eyes were on his children, his wife, coach Goran Ivanisevic and others. In the shark-infested sea, the players chest was his island of solace. For all he’s done, do the greats ever deserve this?
Djokovic has his quirks but he is not Nick Chrygios. He never gives up, he’s been a part of many epic fun encounters and he has a goofy sense of humor too. So why didn’t Djokovic’s cult grow? Of the Big Three, why is it ranked third in the “Twitter followers per Grand Slam achievement” metric? Turning the pages back leads to some answers.
intruder
When Djokovic first arrived on the Grand Slam circuit, tennis was fiercely monogamous, and most fans had taken lifelong vows to walk alongside Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal through the peaks and valleys. The English-language media played a role in influencing the fans. They took the lead in painting the devil’s horns on the newcomer who had the face of a simple villager.
There was no attempt to understand the man who was not like them, made unconventional choices and took unpopular positions. Djokovic’s beliefs are based on his unique journey and life experiences. There are also those who say that the British press has an ax to grind. Scott Andy Murray and Djokovic had a running battle since their younger days and this was reflected in the way they portrayed the Serb.
Writers with Serbian roots, or those who have spent time in the Balkans, have a deep concern about the way Djokovic is perceived by those who don’t go the extra mile to understand him. Anna Metrick, an American of Yugoslav descent, describes herself as a tennis enthusiast and academic lagging behind in her Twitter bio. As a child, she used to visit Serbia during the summer holidays. It is often quoted when someone makes an effort to discover the real Djokovic.
On the Thirty Love Tennis podcast with host Karl Bialik, she gives the answer the world has been asking for for so long. lamenting how saddled Djokovic was with the labels of convenience early in his career. “He doesn’t fit into a neat, tidy box…so people want him to adopt the role of villain, spoiler, or some role associated with his arrival on the scene after Federer and Nadal, in other words this ‘third wheel’,” says Metrick.
Djokovic has been called names and blamed on his gaming skill. One Djokoputic, another “fake”. Djokovic takes long elusive injury breaks during the matches he will track but he’s not totally breaking the rules. He stretches them to the limit.
Having to follow his passion while dodging poverty and war can leave scars. Djokovic has often talked about his father taking out high-interest loans to sustain his career. There is one frame etched in his mind from the days of struggle. It is a knife pressed to his father’s neck, an unsavory consequence of default.
Two different worlds
Even when he reached the big league, he didn’t have the institutional support from Serbia like Federer had from Switzerland and Nadal from Spain. Federer had the backing of Swiss companies such as Credit Suisse, Lindt and Jura and the same was true of Nadal. Djokovic had no such luxuries. Head coach Artaldi told sports360.com the interesting story of signing the Uniqlo deal.
It was a stroke of luck that saved the Serbs. It was his decision to support earthquake victims in Japan that caught the attention of Uniqlo’s president. Impressed by the sympathy, he gave Djokovic his first major sponsorship. These struggles will instill strong survival instincts and they will show up in court.
Boris Becker, his former coach, confirms this position. “He has two personalities. There’s one on the field – the machine-like, zen, action-like competitor who wants to win no matter what. And then Novak comes off the field, and he’s a sweetheart – he loves his family, he loves his charity, he loves his country – and he’ll give you his last jersey if you need it,” he once told the BBC.
He and his father caused a stir by making statements that would not be seen as politically correct in the world far from their home country. Djokovic Sr. has been caught in a frame with tennis fans supporting Russia’s war on Ukraine, and Noll once gave the three-fingered victory salute that Serbian soldiers exchanged when they fought Croatia.
Djokovic’s well-researched biography by writer and broadcaster Chris Powers paints a detailed picture of Serbia and the importance of nationalism in the war-torn region. It gives an idea of the two different worlds the tennis star keeps switching between. Occasionally scripts get mixed up. “He’s completely at ease in his own country,” Powers wrote, “although he acts with a slightly different register—he’s a little more chauvinistic, happy to join in on Serbian songs and cultural rituals, and even a bit of blatant nationalism”.
Djokovic isn’t just another rags-to-riches story of a boy from a war-torn land. Author Metrick shares a line she heard from famed writer Brian Phillips while researching Anglo-American coverage of Djokovic. “Novak offers tennis fans as well as tennis writers an intricacy and sophistication that people don’t necessarily come to tennis for.”
For all that he has been through and achieved, if there is anyone who does not deserve to be misunderstood, it should be Djokovic.
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