Novak Djokovic is one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
But behind the grand slam wins, and million dollar endorsement deals, is a man who grew up in war-torn Serbia and whose father secretly encountered criminals and car chases to give his son the best shot at success.
Djokovic told ex-West Ham and Croatia soccer coach, Slaven Bilic, on his Neuspjeh Prvaka podcast about his difficult childhood and the lengths his father went to ensure he could take a “make-or-break” trip to America when he was a teenage tennis player.
“The first time I went to America at 15 or 16 to play in the Prince Cup and Orange Bowl, we had never been before and were coming from Serbia where the reputation was not the best,” he explained on the podcast. “We simply couldn’t afford it — the club helped a bit, the [tennis] federation barely.”
The 38-year-old said he needed a total of around AU$7600 to be able to make the trip, so his father got a little bit creative with his fundraising efforts.
“My father turned to those famous loan sharks, criminals who at the time were the only ones willing to lend money on demand, but at very high interest rates,” he explained.
“When he went to ask for the money, my father said how much he needed and why. They asked, ‘Are you in a hurry?’” he continued. “He said he was in a hurry because the tournaments were starting soon. And they said, ‘Well, the interest is … I don’t know, 15-20 per cent, but since you’re in a hurry, it’ll be 30 per cent’.”
Djokovic said his father had no choice but to “grit his teeth” and accept the deal. He continued, saying his father was involved in “car chases and stuff” until he was able to pay the money back.
“In the end, he managed to pay everything back, but it was a very difficult time. This story, which I didn’t know at the time, was kept secret from me.”
In the interview, the former world number one player said he really wanted the tennis world to “love and accept” him and for a long time he felt like he was under-appreciated in comparison to his professional rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
The winner of 24 gram slams has opened up about his difficult childhood in the past.
“My upbringing was probably different than most of the other players from my generation,” Djokovic said in a press conference after winning his third French Open title. “Going back to the 1990s when I was four, five years old, and we had couple of wars.”
Djokovic explained that when Serbia had “embargo” he wasn’t able to travel out of the country to compete at tournaments but his parents did everything they could to make sure he could pursue his dream of becoming a professional tennis player.
“He and my mum had to go through a lot of difficulties, financially, emotionally, whichever way, for me to sit here,” Djokovic said at the press conference. “So I don’t forget about that. I actually carry it in my heart.”
Speaking to Newsweek in 2016, his father said Djokovic first fell in love with tennis when he picked up work building tennis courts and hotels.
“He was three years old… Novak would hang out with the workers, bringing them food and drinks. He developed this connection to the courts,” he told the publication. “I saw the love in his eyes when he looked at the tennis courts.”
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
