Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic was born in Belgrade, then part of Yugoslavia, into a family that ran a fast food and pancake restaurant. He began playing tennis at age four, and by six, he was training with the legendary Serbian coach Jelena Genčić, who declared he had the potential to be the best in the world. Growing up during the NATO bombing of Belgrade in 1999, Djokovic trained in an empty swimming pool as bombs fell nearby — an experience that forged an extraordinary mental resilience.

Djokovic's early career was characterised by brilliance punctuated by doubts about his physical fitness. He would retire from matches citing breathing and fatigue problems. The turning point came when he discovered he had a gluten intolerance — switching to a gluten-free diet transformed his physical performance, and from 2011 he became essentially unstoppable.

His 2011 season was one of the greatest in tennis history — 10 titles including 3 Grand Slams, a 41-match winning streak, and a final ranking that displaced Federer and Nadal. He went on to set the Open Era record for Grand Slam titles (24), surpassing Nadal in 2023 with a victory at Roland Garros that demonstrated his masterful adaptability to all surfaces.

Djokovic's status as the greatest of all time — on pure statistical terms — is undeniable, yet he has never attracted the same universal affection as Federer and Nadal. His deportation from Australia during the 2022 Open due to vaccine exemption controversy polarized opinion globally. Yet nothing has dimmed his on-court excellence or his single-minded pursuit of history.