NOVAK "NOLE" DJOKOVIC - THIS IS YOUR LIFE

NOVAK “NOLE”
                                                  DJOKOVIC

                                             THIS IS YOUR LIFE

The 2011 Wimbledon men’s champion was born 22 May 1987 in Belgrade,
Serbia. Novak has two younger brothers Marko and Djordje, who both aspire
to become professional tennis players.

His father Srdjan was a former professional skier and had met Novak’s
mother Dijana when both were skiing instructors at the Serbian mountain
resort of Kopaonik. (Novak’s uncle Goran and aunt Jelena had both been
professional skiers.) Novak’s parents later ended up running a series of
businesses including a pizza restaurant in Kopaonik.

Nole first came across tennis age four, when a pharmaceutical company laid
three new tennis courts across the street from where he lived. Though he took
easily to tennis, at a young age his family expected him to become a skier or
soccer player.

A SECOND MOTHER
In the summer of 1993 legendary Yugoslav tennis coach Jelena Gencic, who
had previously coached Monica Seles, Iva Majoli and Goran Ivanisevic, held a
summer tennis camp in Kopaonik. She spotted six-year-old Novak outside the
courts and said later, “It was the first day of my first year in Kopaonik, and I
was doing a tennis camp. He (Novak) was standing outside the tennis courts
and watching all morning, and I said: ‘Hey little boy, do you like it? Do you
know what this is? Why don’t you come and join us?”

Having asked his parents, Novak returned to take part in the clinic. Gencic
said, “I shall never forget when he came to the camp. He arrived half an hour
early with a big tennis bag all neatly packed, as if for professional training.
Inside I saw a tennis racquet, towel, bottle of water, extra T-shirt, banana,
wristbands, everything you need for a game.

I asked him who packed it for him and he replied he did it himself. I said to
him, how did you know what to pack? and he replied, I’ve seen Pete Sampras
on TV.”

By the third day of the camp Gencic met with Novak’s parents and told them,
“You have a golden child” - the same thing she had said about Monica Seles
when she was eight.

Gencic taught Novak the basics of the game but also provided him inspiration
through poetry and classical music. Novak said of her, “She is my second
mother, pretty much everything that I know on court I owe to her, and a lot of
things off it too. She took care of my life in general. What I was doing in
school, what I was having to eat and drink. We were listening to classical
music together. She wanted to teach me how I should behave on and off the
court, how professional I should be."

Gencic, who coached Novak from age six to 12, was born in 1933, and was a
former leading tennis player, and member of Yugoslavia’s national handball
squad. “Jelena is our family coach,” said Srdjan. “She created Novak. He
owes her a great deal. Jelena instilled in him a certain attitude, both to sport
and to life.”

Gencic gave Djokovic’s family, who knew nothing about tennis, the assurance
that Novak had what it took to be something exceptional in the game. “Let’s
say that Jelena Gencic gave us strength; she’s a serious woman,” said
Novak’s uncle Goran, who is now the tournament director of the Serbian
Open.

INSIDE A CHAMPION’S MIND

In 1993 six-year-old Novak watched on satellite TV as Pete Sampras won
Wimbledon. Sampras became the idol upon which Novak modelled his game,
including using a one-handed backhand. At age seven however, and with
Gencic’s backing, Novak decided to give up on playing his backhand one-
handed; as he found himself too weak and unable to handle high balls with it,
and so began playing the shot two-handed instead. Also age seven, Gencic
managed to get him on national TV.

      A child interviewer asked Novak, “What’s your daily schedule?”

      Novak replied, “I go to school in the morning, then play tennis in the
      afternoon, afterwards I do my homework, and then I play out in the
      evenings.
      “Is tennis a job or just play for you?” he was asked.

      “Tennis is my job,” replied Nole.

      “And what is your goal?” asked the interviewer.

      “To become a champion,” said Novak.

Back in Belgrade Novak trained at the Partizan Tennis Club where Janko
Tipsarevic and Ana Ivanovic also played. Money was tight and Srdjan
struggled to pay the coaching fees, but insisted Novak get the best available.
Goran Djokovic said, “Novak’s younger brothers suffered because Novak had
to have the top food, the top equipment, he was the priority.”

PLAYING IN A WAR ZONE

In March 1999 NATO forces began running five hundred combat air missions
into Serbia each day. Novak’s family continued living in their apartment there,
but after the first week of bombing, began venturing out to practice.

Gencic’s sister died in the bombing, but she said that she, Novak and others,
continued to play tennis in Belgrade, choosing areas that had been bombed
the previous night on the assumption that they would not be bombed again so
soon.

Novak said, “During the war in 1999 I was 12 years old I remember, we were
celebrating my birthday, it was in May, and then we saw planes flying over our
heads and kind of bombing the city and it was really an ugly image, and it was
something that I don’t like to remember but on the other hand we were on the
tennis court for a whole day.”

Dusan Grujic, General Manager of the Partizan club said, “Throughout the 78
days of bombing we kept the courts open every day, to help the young people
think of something else.”

Dijana said, "There was no way we were going to sit at home crying. So
Novak and his brothers were on the tennis court from 10am in the morning till
8pm at night.”

Novak later said of this time, “We heard the alarm noise about planes coming
to bomb us every single day, a minimum of three times, for two and a half
months, there was a huge noise in the city all the time, all the time. So in my
case, when I hear a big noise even now, I get a little traumatized.”

According to Goran, “Tennis was the thing that kept the family sane.” When
the bombing finally stopped, Novak and his brothers went outside shouting,
"We are safe now! We are safe!"

LEAVING HOME
Six months later Gencic asked her friend Croatian Niki Pilic, the 1973 French
Open finalist, if Novak could train at his tennis academy in Munich.
On his first visit to the academy to audition for Pilic, Novak was accompanied
by Goran. They arrived in midwinter and with little money - Pilic's wife
nicknamed Novak “Jacket”, because he didn't have one. Goran stayed with
him for five days and when he left Novak cried.

Pilic initially wasn’t not on the idea of Novak, then aged just 12-and-a-half,
training away from home in the gruelling regime of his academy. He changed
his mind though, and Novak spent much of the next two years with Pilic, who
treated him as if he were his own child.
The Djokovic restaurant depended on seasonal business, which was
sometimes good and sometimes not. Even when Pilic threw in a discount from
the $3000 a month academy fees, the costs of travelling and tournaments
forced Srdjan into borrowing money at high interest rates from loan sharks.

       “It was hard then,” said Dijana. “Novak was developing, he needed to
       be accompanied everywhere, and we weren’t rich. Society as a rule
       only remembers such kids later when the accolades and medals begin
       to arrive. Nole's goal to win Wimbledon gave our family something we
       had to fight for.

       It was a very bad time because our country was in a bad situation, so
       we were trying to do everything for our son. You can imagine how we
       felt when Novak left home on his own for the first time when he was 12.
       Still, there were some positives in this experience. Novak began to
       develop a sense of independence early on, so that later he didn’t seem
       to mind spending long periods away from home.”

Pilic said, “I soon realised after a short spell playing against him, that he had
this incredible will. He was great to coach, particularly because he had what it
takes in the places that no coach can reach: into the heart and the head.”

Pilic recalled that one day at the academy, Novak, then aged 13-and-a-half,
passed him while he having lunch, 20 minutes before his lesson on his way to
warm up. Pilic said to him, “Aren’t you a little early?” To which Novak replied,
“I’m not going to waste my career.”

Novak’s former manager Dirk Hordorff said that once when Novak had just
finished a tough training session in the Austrian Alps, and all the other players
were preparing ready for a party, Novak asked him, "If I go out tonight, would
it be good for my tennis?" “Just go," Hordorff replied. "You worked hard, drink
a glass of wine..." But Djokovic cut him off saying, "I didn't ask you, 'Would
this be good for me?' he said. "I asked, 'Would this be good for my tennis?"

Pilic said, “Serbs point to the bombing as the crucible of Djokovic's
competitiveness, but he also had no choice. The family had put all its chips on
him.”
Much of Novak’s drive came from his dad. With no tennis knowledge Srdjan
became certain that his son would become world number one someday. Pilic
said, "His father believed Novak was an unbelievable player, even when he
wasn’t unbelievable, and he told everyone who would (or wouldn't) listen. At
each level he would look around at the opposition and tell Novak, "You're
better than all of them."

Fellow Pilic Academy student Ernests Gulbis said, "He was always very
confident, and he was very sure that he was going to be on top. Nothing
arrogant, but with all his thinking, all his work, he was really professional
already at a young age.”

By age 14, Novak, along with Andy Murray, who is seven days older than him,
were amongst the best juniors in Europe, but due to shortages of finances,
Novak was unable to play many international tournaments.

The family kept looking for investors, but without success, and the Serbian
Tennis Federation, which runs on a budget of $2 million, had no funds to give
him. "Nobody cared," said Goran. "Srdjan was going around, trying to
convince people, please invest. Like you are selling fruit or dairy: Here's an
investment for you. It was a very tough time."

TURNING PROFESSIONAL
In early 2003 age 15, Novak received wildcards into three Futures events in
Germany and Serbia, but failed to win a match. Then in June, having just
turned 16, he received another wildcard into a Futures in Belgrade. There in
the first round he beat the number four seed, and then another four matches
to win the title, gaining him his first world ranking of No.767.

Afterwards he said, “My dream was to get through the first round and win my
first professional point, so what happened was beyond my expectations, I won
the title. In my home country, my hometown, I showed me that I can compete
with professional tennis players and beat them.”

Two weeks later, and once again with the help of a wildcard, Novak reached
the semi-finals of another Futures in Belgrade, and three weeks later, this
time as a direct entrant into the main draw, reached yet another semi-final.
Age 16 he finished 2003 ranked world No.687.

In February 2004 Novak attained his highest ITF world junior ranking of
No.24, However, his success in Futures and Challenger events saw him rise
into the ATPs Top-200 and finish 2004 at No.186.

Age 17 Novak qualified for the 2005 Australian Open, losing in the first round
in straight sets to Marat Safin. In May he won the Challenger event at San
Remo and having turned 18, qualified for the French Open, where he was
forced to retire in the second round against Guillermo Coria.

He then qualified for Wimbledon where he lost in the third round to Sebastian
Grosjean; a result that lifted him into the world’s Top-100. In September he
reached the third round of the US Open, losing there to Fernando Verdasco,
and finished 2005 aged 18, the youngest man in the Top-100 at world No.78.

Still struggling financially, in April 2006, Srdjan was so disheartened that he
had Dijana talk to the LTA about the possibility of Novak and his brothers
switching nationalities to play for Great Britain.

"The decision in the end was mine," said Novak. "I never wanted to change
countries; it's something that is part of me. We are all really proud of where
we come from. And though we've been through tough times, it makes us
stronger."

A month later, in Paris, Novak met Slovakian coach Marian Vajda, who in
1987 had reached world No.34 and been the Slovakian Davis and Fed Cup
captain. Having consulted with Vajda informally, Novak reached his first
Grand Slam quarter-finals at Roland Garros and earned himself $149,590.

With Vajda installed as his full-time coach, having just turned 19, Djokovic
won his first ATP titles at Amersfoort and then Metz. He ended 2006 ranked
No.16. When Srdjan tried congratulating him for reaching the Top 20, Novak
stopped him. "When I'm number one," he said, "then you can congratulate
me."

2007 started well for Novak as he won the title at Adelaide. He lost in the final
of Indian Wells and a week later won his first Masters series event at Miami.
He reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, losing both
times to Rafael Nadal and then at the US Open, reached his first Grand Slam
final, losing there to Roger Federer. Age 20, he ended 2007 ranked world
number three.

GRAND SLAM SUCCESS

In February 2008 Novak won first Grand Slam at the Australian Open; beating
Federer in the semi-finals then Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final. He then won
the Masters events at Indian Wells, Rome and was bronze medalist at the
Beijing Olympics. He finished the year by winning the Tennis Masters Cup in
Shanghai. Despite these results, due to the dominance of Nadal and Federer,
Novak spent the spent the entirety of 2008 as world number three.

2009 saw Novak win titles at Dubai, Belgrade, Beijing, Basel and Paris and
also be runner-up in Cincinnati, Rome, Monte Carlo, Miami and Halle. In
September he hired American coach Todd Martin on a part-time basis, to
work alongside Vajda. Once again though, he finished the year ranked world
number three.

In 2010 Novak reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and in
February finally reached world number two. For much of the rest of the year
though, his results failed to impress. In April he ended the relationship with
Martin, whose attempt to re-model his serve, and introduce more slice and
variation into Novak’s game had failed. Though retaining his title at Dubai, he
lost in the quarter-finals of Roland Garros and the semi-finals at Wimbledon.

By this time Vajda was back full-time as his coach and in July Novak met
holistic nutritionist Igor Cetojevic.

Throughout his career Djokovic had suffered from breathing problems and
niggling injuries, which forced him sometimes to have to retire in the middle of

matches. Andy Roddick once said of him sarcastically, "He's either quick to
call the trainer or he's the most courageous guy of all time."

For a long time Novak had tried finding a solution. Cetojevic, who had studied
Chinese medicine, streamlined his diet and cut out gluten altogether. Novak,
who had been brought up on pizza shed a few pounds yet felt stronger. "The
whole allergy thing was coming from gluten," he said. "I didn't know. We grew
up on gluten - bread, pasta, and I was consuming it in big, big amounts. I
guess I'm very sensitive."

Following Wimbledon Novak lost in the semi-finals of Toronto and the quarter-
finals of Cincinnati, but then reached the final of the US Open, losing there to
Nadal. In October he retained his title at Beijing, and in November lost in the
final of Basel to Federer, and in the semi-finals of the Barclays ATP World
Tour Finals he lost once again to Federer.

DAVIS CUP VICTORY

The story of Novak Djokovic is also the story of modern day Serbia. "Novak
Djokovic," Vladimir Petrovic, Serbia's ambassador to the US said, "is the
single biggest positive PR this country's ever had. He's a positive face of the
new democratic Serbia."

Throughout 2010 Novak had led Serbia to the final of the Davis Cup.
Following victories over the USA, Croatia and the Czech Republic, in
December Serbia faced France in Belgrade.

The final was a taut affair, eventually being won in the fifth and deciding
rubber for Serbia by Victor Troicki. Novak though, had more than played his
part, winning both his single matches, though losing the doubles in five sets,
when partnering Nenad Zimonjic. The win sparked national fervour in Serbia
with the entire team publicly shaving their heads afterwards.

“A GOOD YEAR”

In January 2011 Novak won his second Australian Open; beating Roger
Federer in the semi-finals, then Andy Murray in the final, both in straight sets.
Including his wins in Australia, Novak then enjoyed a 43 match winning
streak, during which he collected consecutive titles at Dubai, Indian Wells,
Miami, Belgrade, Madrid and Rome, before losing to Federer in the semi-
finals of Roland Garros.

Encouraged by his country’s success in Davis Cup, and with his breathing,
injuries, and coaching difficulties a thing of the past, Djokovic's confidence
soared. "Everything came into the right place," he said during his incredible
unbeaten run. "My mind-set is different now; I have a different approach to my
life, to my profession. I'm more stable emotionally. I feel much tougher
mentally: That's the learning and experience you get playing at the highest
level. Physically, I've always tried to stay fit, I've been very dedicated - and
that's what's paying off right now."

Having beaten Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Wimbledon semi-finals Novak was
assured the following week of becoming world number one. In the final he
beat defending champion Rafael Nadal to claim the title he had craved since
he first saw Pete Sampras winning the tournament as a six-year-old.

                                           Afterwards he said, “I can’t find
                                           words to describe the feeling that I
                                           have right now. I managed to
                                           achieve a lifetime’s goal and I
                                           managed to make my dream come
                                           true, all in the space of three days.
                                           It’s just an incredible feeling that
                                           I’m never going to forget. This is
                                           the best day of my tennis career.
                                           This success kind of makes you
                                           rewind to the old days, makes you
                                           go back to your childhood and
                                           remember what you’ve been
                                           through to get to this stage.”

After Wimbledon Novak’s superb form continued as he won his fifth Masters
Series title of the year at Montreal. Then at the US Open, he beat Rafael
Nadal in the final to win his fourth Grand Slam; a match which contained the
highest level of sustained play I’ve ever seen.

During the US Open Novak suffered a back injury, which forced him a week
later to default during Serbia’s Davis Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina in
Belgrade. After several weeks of rehab he returned to the tour but withdrew
from the Paris Masters event with a shoulder injury.

2011 saw Nole compile a record of 70 wins and 6 losses, win three of the four
calendar year Grand Slams, win 10 of his career 28 singles titles, and earn an
incredible $12.6 million. In December he was named 2011 ITF World
Champion and in February 2012 the Laureus Sportsman of the year

     As I said – for Novak Djokovic 2011 was a Good Year!
Novak’s good run continued in early 2012 when he survived a bruising five-set
semi-final encounter against Andy Murray to reach the final of the Australian
Open. Then in the longest Grand Slam final of all time, lasting five hours and
fifty-three minutes, he beat Rafael Nadal in one of the greatest matches of all
time, to win his fifth Grand Slam singles title, and take his career earnings to
over $35 million.

 Find out more about Nole on his official web site at

                http://www.novakdjokovic.rs

From ‘So you want to win Wimbledon?’

          Second edition available at

          http://www.amazon.co.uk

http://www.soyouwanttowinwimbledon.com