One of the greatest tennis players of all time and certainly the greatest this year, Novak Djokovic has been absolutely dominant in 2021. He has already won both Grand Slams this year, the Australian and French Open and is now a favourite to win Wimbledon ahead of the final.
You know all about his achievements on the court, so we’re here to enlighten you on the not-so-known things about the tennis star.
Djokovic first picked up a tennis racket at the age of four. When he turned six, Yugoslav tennis player Jelena Genčić spotted him and said that he is the greatest talent she’s seen since Yugoslav great, Monica Seles. Genčić then worked with young Novak for the following six years after which due to his immense talent, he had to go abroad to play because he needed a higher level of competition.
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An expert in tennis, Djokovic is also an expert when it comes to languages. The Serb can speak a whopping eleven languages. Serbian, English, French, Chinese, German, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Portuguese and finally Japanese.
Most athletes have to follow a diet in order to compete at the level they are consistently required to. But the current World Number 1 takes it up a notch. His diet mainly consists of beans, vegetables, fish, white meat, seeds, fruit, lentils and healthy oils. Djokovic is also a strict intolerant of gluten and dairy products. He also credits a major portion of his success to his diet and its ability to keep him going.
Ahead of their semi-final clash at this year’s Roland Garros, Djokovic admitted, “So yeah, I will probably pick Rafa as the biggest rival I have ever had in my career and the anticipation for a match against him anywhere, on any surface, on any occasion is always different from any other.” The two have faced each other 58 times with the Serb leading 30-28, in Grand Slams they have played 17 times with the Spaniard leading 10-7.
A rivalry unlike any other 👊#RolandGarros | @DjokerNole pic.twitter.com/s51b33fhrC
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 9, 2021
When a young Novak was dominating junior tournaments, tennis agents offered him and his family a chance to be citizens of Great Britain. Djokovic said it was a very tough decision rejecting it as it would have helped solve a lot of problems for him and his family. He chose to reject the offer because he never really wanted to go to England, he did not want to leave his friends and family and wanted to stick to his roots.
[Featured Image Credit: ANI]
Aarya Bhagwat