As Novak Djokovic prepares for his Wimbledon campaign, learn more about his career so far, with chocolate alarms and Bosnian pyramid water playing their part...
Feel the rhythm
The Beatles and a Serbian rock band called Električni Orgazam - or Electro Orgasm - helped Novak Djokovic to become the greatest returner in the history of tennis. When Djokovic was a boy, his then coach Bogdan Obradovic brought a guitar on to the practice court and performed ‘Everyone in Yugoslavia is Playing Rock ‘n’ Roll’ by Electro Orgasm. Obradovic wanted to show Djokovic that returning has much in common with playing and listening to music: it’s all about rhythm. “Listen, Novak, you have to follow the rhythm of the song,” Obradovic said to Djokovic. “And then you’ll feel the rhythm in your return, in your movement, in everything. It’s like a song. It’s all connected.” As part of this musical tennis instruction, Obradovic also introduced Djokovic to ‘Yesterday’ and many of The Beatles’ other songs.
Chocolate alarms
Djokovic once set an alarm on his phone so he would know – to the exact minute – when a year had passed since he last ate a piece of chocolate.
Warm welcomes
When a young player joins the tour, Djokovic goes out of his way to make them feel welcome. “Novak gives a friendly welcome to the younger guys who are new on tour,” said fellow Serb Dusan Lajovic. “He invites them for practice and tries to give them advice. It’s hard when you’re young and you join the tour and you don’t know anybody and everything’s new, but then Novak approaches them and says, ‘Hey, everything’s cool, you’re here now’. That’s one of the things that people don’t see on camera.”
Perfecting precision
An athlete known for his carefully calibrated tennis has, deep into his thirties, become even more precise with his movement. “Over the years, Novak understood more about how to control his precision game and he became even more precise,” said his fitness trainer Gebhard Gritsch. “What he might have lost physically was at least compensated by getting even more precise with his movement.”
The big question
Before Djokovic makes any decision – and this could be something monumental or a small and seemingly inconsequential choice – he will ask himself: “How will this help my tennis?” As Djokovic once told his friend Janko Tipsarevic: “When you set a goal, and you’re determined to do it, from the beginning it has to be that every decision you make ultimately has to reach that goal.”
Like a fine wine
“Bad experiences” off the court have helped Djokovic to become a better player. “One of the big questions we discussed together a long time ago was how to cope with life,” said Igor Cetojevic, his confidante and former adviser on nutrition. “Novak needed maturity. It’s like with wine, it needs time to mature and settle, and a human is the same. Bad experiences are there for a reason, to help you grow up. If you can survive a hard time – if you’re suffering and then you pass it – you will be stronger than before. That’s the reason why Novak’s a great player.”
It's not about the money
Djokovic doesn’t care much about money. “I’ve never met someone who has achieved so much in his life and who has all the possibilities, and basically the world in the palm of his hand, and who is so modest and down to earth,” said Tipsarevic. “Novak’s the least materialistic person you could meet who is in his position.” A former coach said: “Novak’s not doing it for the money, for the big houses, the yachts and the private planes.”
The benefits of pyramid water
Djokovic has drunk the healing ‘pyramid water’ found in the tunnels beneath the Bosnian Pyramids. “Novak really appreciates the water from the pyramids. He can see it brings him benefits,” said Sam Osmanagic, who announced to the world in 2005 that he had discovered the pyramids. “When Novak comes here, he always gets supplies of the water.”
Using 'inat'
There’s a Serbian word, ‘inat’, that isn’t easily translated into English but which explains Djokovic’s drive and determination. “Inat is when you’re angry and you have this really strong motivation to prove people wrong,” said Jelena Jankovic, a former women’s world No.1 from Serbia. “I think Novak has had that feeling his whole career.”
Admiration for Kobe Bryant
Djokovic had to show both ambition and humility when he wanted Kobe Bryant, the late basketball player, as a mentor. “That’s not the stereotypical mentor-mentee relationship that somebody just stumbles upon,” said Todd Martin, a former coach. “That’s something you seek out. From Novak’s side, that required a level of ambition but also a level of humility.”
A proud father
Djokovic was a child when his father started telling people in Belgrade that his son would go on to become the greatest tennis player in history (and he wasn’t wrong). “Novak’s dad wouldn’t shy away from saying publicly that Novak, when he was just a boy, was going to be the greatest of all time,” recalled Dusan Vemic, his former assistant coach.
Thriving on pressure
Djokovic speaks openly about his ambitions because he needs to feel that extra pressure and expectation as that energises him and provokes him into elevating his game. “The last couple of years, Novak realised that even if it risked him sounding arrogant or something – which he isn’t – he needed to put pressure on his own back,” said Vemic. “Novak needs to have expectations for himself and from anybody and everybody as then he can have that fire and keep pushing and keep finding a reason why he should keep living the life of a world-class athlete. Why does Novak want more pressure? Because he thrives on it. That gives him that spark and fire. When the pressure is on him, that’s when he plays his best tennis.”
A focus on Paris
Djokovic needed to win the Roland-Garros title at least once if he was ever going to be happy, according to Gritsch.
Charitable works
When people in Banjica, the area of Belgrade where Djokovic grew up, speak about him, it’s more likely to be about his generosity – such as the donation he made to the local school to buy essential supplies – than about what he has accomplished on a tennis court.
Self-motivation methods
A young Djokovic had to dare himself to bring out his greatness. Martin said Djokovic would have been asking himself: “I’ve got greatness inside me, but can I bring this out? Do I dare to bring this out? Am I brave enough to bring this out?” Martin also said Djokovic would have made a motivational speech for himself along the lines of: “It’s time. It’s time for me to put it on the line enough for me to risk failure. I need to be courageous, test my potential and do everything I can to be great.”
Embracing calmness
Djokovic has become more relaxed in the last year or so. “The biggest change I’ve seen in Novak was when Roger and Rafa were no longer in the picture and Novak became more relaxed and free to be who he is and to say what he wants,” said Chris Evert. “Novak’s the leader now and this is his stage.”
From another planet
Djokovic’s boyhood coach used to wonder whether the future great was a “tennis alien”. The first time Bogdan Obradovic saw a young Djokovic play, he picked up on that “cosmic energy”. “Novak’s technique wasn’t supreme in that moment. But everyone around him was going ‘whoa’, as you could feel and see some energy. Like he’s from outer space. Like an alien.”
Unleashing the beast
Djokovic has worked on developing what others call his ‘beast mode’. “Novak has a beast mode on court but his mental strength isn’t something he was born with,” said his old friend Viktor Troicki. “When he was younger, he had a lot of trouble in some moments with his focus, with the energy, with everything. But he has worked very hard on his mind and his focus and now he’s almost perfected that part.”
Moving on from defeats
One of Djokovic’s superpowers is an ability to forget, to “leave things in the past”. “Novak loses a tough match somewhere and then at the next tournament you don’t see that bothering him,” said Dusan Lajovic. “He’s able to forget things.”
Chicken-skinned onlookers
When Djokovic was training at Niki Pilic’s academy outside Munich, the other students used to get ‘chicken skin’ – or goosebumps – from seeing his hyperfocus and intensity every day. The other kids used to ‘gossip’ about Djokovic, according to his old roommate Cosmin Georgescu, though never in a mean way, more whispering behind his back in awe and astonishment.
Pain-free priorities
Djokovic’s approach to fitness has a strong focus on risk management, and avoiding injury. When Djokovic started working with Gritsch, they would spend as much time trying to reduce the possibility of injury as on any other aspect of his fitness. “For an athlete of that dimension, how much would he miss out on if he was injured and couldn’t do anything for six months? And, with the recovery process, who knows whether he could ever go back to the same level again? That’s why keeping Novak injury-free was always the main objective,” Gritsch said.
World-class preparation
Other players look at the work Djokovic does each day and accept they simply can’t match him. “If you’re say, No.5 or No.10 in the world, and you want to get to No.1, you basically have to outwork whoever is at the top,” said Craig O’Shannessy, his former strategy coach. “So you go and have a look at Novak and see what he does on a daily basis – what he does in matches, how he prepares, his nutrition and what he does with his body – and you’ll be like, ‘I don’t know how to beat that’. You’re trying to outwork Novak? Good luck with that.”
The long game
When Djokovic was 21 years old, he was already looking almost 20 years into the future. The first thing he said to Gritsch was that he wanted to be healthy at 40. “Novak told me he didn’t want to train in a way that his body suffers too much as he wanted to be in top shape when he was 40,” Gritsch recalled.
Future jazz star?
When Djokovic retires from tennis, he will continue to be “a student of life”, according to his old coach Vemic, which could mean playing the saxophone in jazz clubs. “If Novak gets to his fifties and he decides that he wants to play jazz, for instance, you can be sure he will try to learn, to play the saxophone at a top level. Novak will continue growing and trying to make himself a better human.”
Mark Hodgkinson's new book, 'Searching for Novak', will be published on Thursday, 4th July.
