The Sporting Statesman
Page 30
Ultimately, what people like Djokovic mean to those they inspire is up to the individual who’s inspired by them, and it’s going to be different from person to person. The Serbian player and coach Dusan Vemic says touchingly, ‘I’m really happy that I have him in some way or fashion in my life, so I can reflect on him as a human being, a great role model, a great example. I’m well aware that my best is not as good as his best, but the example he sets is that I still feel motivated to make the effort to do my best. As a human being, he’s got to the point where he represents his country and his comrades, all the positives. It’s very pure. His motives are very straightforward and innocent, and it shows.’
The world won’t stop when Novak Djokovic hangs up his tennis rackets, nor will Serbia cease to exist. In fact, Serbia will probably be a much richer country at the end of his playing career than it was at the beginning. But at that point we will start to get a sense of whether Djokovic was ‘just’ a tennis player, or whether he will go on to achieve great things on whatever stage he chooses to enter. He has the intellectual capacity and benevolent personality to put together his experiences of family struggles, the Belgrade bombing, Jelena Gencic’s worldly wisdom, being booed in a 23,000-seater tennis stadium, fighting through the pain barrier in a near-six-hour final, and others, and emerge as someone with a major contribution to make. The coach Dejan Petrovic says, ‘Whatever Novak would have touched, in any sport, he’d have succeeded. He just had that hunger for winning that was incredible. He would work immensely to achieve that; he never said, “I’m tired, I can’t do that.”’ If Djokovic brings that same hunger to his next career, it might yet be that the sport of tennis was merely the launch pad for the career of a global statesman.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
There are no English-language biographies of Novak Djokovic. One biography did appear in 2013 in Portuguese, written by Blaza Popovic and published in Brazil. Popovic is a Belgrade-based tennis journalist who doesn’t travel much. The Brazilian connection came because he became friends with Gustavo Kuerten’s communications manager and it went through a Brazilian publisher. In some of the publicity for that book it was claimed Popovic had spoken to the Djokovic family, but he confirms he has never spoken to the family and that all quotes were taken from television interviews the family gave in Serbia.
The books about Serbia, sport in eastern Europe and Djokovic that have been used in researching this book are:
Andric, Ivo – The Bridge over the Drina [Na Drini cuprija], 1945 (English translation by Lovett Edwards, published by George Allen & Urwin, 1959)
Wilson, Jonathan – Behind the Curtain, Orion, 2006
Djokovic, Novak – Serve to Win, Bantam Press, 2013
Little, Allan, and Silber, Laura – The Death of Yugoslavia, BBC Books 1995, Penguin 1996
Plus two essays by academics who specialise in Yugoslavia which were used to provide background material:
Hayden, Robert – ‘Serbian and Croatian Nationalism and the Wars in Yugoslavia’, in Cultural Survival issue 19.2, 1995
Judah, Tim – ‘Yugoslavia: 1918–2003’, BBC On-Line, 2003
INDEX
Adidas 1, 2
Agassi, Andre 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Air Serbia 1, 2
Alavantic, Dora 1
Albanians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Alexander I, King of Yugoslavia 1, 2
Ali, Muhammad 1
Allegro, Yves 1
Ancic, Mario 1, 2
Anderson, Kevin 1
Andric, Ivo 1, 2, 3
Annacone, Paul 1
Antelj, Djordjo 1, 2, 3, 4
anti-doping measures 1, 2, 3, 4
Arkan 1, 2
Artaldi, Edoardo 1
ATP tournaments 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Australian Open championship: 2004 1
2005 1, 2
2007 1, 2
2008 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
2009 1
2010 1, 2
2011 1, 2
2012 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
2013 1
2014 1, 2, 3
junior 1, 2
Austro-Hungarian Empire 1, 2, 3
backhand 1
Baghdatis, Marcos 1
Bahrami, Mansour 1
Baker, Brian 1, 2
Balkans, the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Banja Luka 1, 2, 3, 4
basketball 1, 2, 3, 4
‘Battle of the Sexes’ 1
Becker, Boris 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Beijing Olympics 1, 2
Belgium 1, 2
Belgrade 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and bombings 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
and Djokovic 1
and facilities 1
Beogradska Arena 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Berdych, Tomas 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and Davis Cup 1, 2, 3, 4
blood tests 1
Borg, Bjorn 1
Bosnia-Herzegovina 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and nationalism 1
and Serbia 1
Bosnian War 1
Bovina, Elena 1, 2
Bozoljac, Ilija 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Bozovic, Bojan 1, 2, 3, 4
Brazil 1
Bridge over the Drina, The 1, 2
Bryan twins 1, 2
Bulgaria 1, 2
CAA agency 1
Canadian Masters 1, 2, 3
Canas, Guillermo 1
Carter, Jimmy 1
Cash, Pat 1
Centrepoint 1
Cetniks 1, 2
Cetojevic, Igor 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Challenger tournaments 1, 2, 3, 4
Chang, Michael 1, 2
China 1, 2, 3
Christianity 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Cilic, Marin 1, 2, 3
Cincinnati Masters 1, 2, 3, 4
Clement, Arnaud 1, 2, 3
‘Clothes for Smiles’ project 1
Cold War 1
communism 1, 2, 3
Connors, Jimmy 1, 2
Copa del Sol tournament 1
Coria, Guillermo 1
Courier, Jim 1, 2
Court of Arbitration in Sport (CAS) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
court surfaces 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Croatia 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and football 1, 2
and independence 1, 2
and Ljubicic 1, 2
and nationalism 1, 2
and Serbia 1, 2, 3, 4
and tennis 1
Czech Republic 1, 2, 3, 4
Damjanovic, Djoko 1
Darcis, Steve 1
Davis, William 1
Davis Cup 1, 2, 3 2004 1
2005 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
2006 1, 2, 3
2008 1, 2, 3
2010 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
2011 1
2013 1, 2
Davydenko, Nikolay 1
De Launey, Guy 1, 2, 3
del Potro, Juan-Martin 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
‘Delije’ 1, 2, 3
Deutscher Tennis Bund (DTB) 1
Dimitrov, Grigor 1, 2, 3, 4
Dinamo Zagreb 1
Divac, Vlade 1
Djere, Laslo 1
Djilas, Dragan 1
Djokovic, Dijana (mother) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Djokovic, Djordje (brother) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Djokovic, Goran (uncle) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Djokovic, Marko (brother) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Djokovic, Nedeljko (great-grandfather) 1
Djokovic, Novak 1, 2, 3, 4 and ailments 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
and Australian Open 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
and awards 1, 2, 3
and Becker 1
and character 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
and Croatia 1, 2
and Davis Cup 1, 2, 3, 4
and family 1, 2, 3, 4
and Federer 1, 2, 3, 4
and film 1
and Foundation 1, 2, 3
and French Open 1, 2, 3
and Gencic 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
and gluten intolerance 1, 2, 3
and impersonations 1
and Kis 1, 2, 3
<
br /> and legacy 1, 2, 3
and Ljubicic 1
and McEnroe 1
and the media 1, 2
and money 1
and nationality 1, 2, 3, 4
and Obradovic 1
and Olympics 1
and Petrovic 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
and Piatti 1, 2
and Pilic 1, 2, 3
and racket 1
and ranking 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
and religion 1, 2
and restaurants 1
and Serbia 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
and serves 1, 2
and tournaments 1, 2, 3
and training 1, 2
and Troicki 1
and US Open 1, 2, 3
and war 1, 2, 3, 4
and Wimbledon 1, 2, 3, 4
and Woodforde 1, 2, 3
and Zimonjic 1, 2
Djokovic, Srdjan (father) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and Britain 1
and character 1, 2, 3, 4
and Kis 1
and Martin 1
and the media 1, 2
and money 1, 2
and Naor 1, 2
and Petrovic 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
and Piatti 1
and Spasojevic 1
and tournaments 1
and Woodforde 1, 2
and Zimonjic 1, 2
Djokovic, Vladimir (grandfather) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Dolgopolov, Alexandr 1, 2
Doping Control Officer 1, 2, 3
Drewett, Brad 1
economy 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 state-controlled 1, 2, 3
Edberg, Stefan 1, 2, 3
ethnic cleansing 1, 2, 3
ethnic groups 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
etiquette 1
Europe 1, 2
European Junior Championships 1
European Union (EU) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and economics 1, 2
and Serbia 1, 2
Eurovision Song Contest 1, 2
Expendables 1 2, 3
Federer, Roger 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and Australian Open 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
and blood tests 1
and character 1, 2, 3, 4
and Davis Cup 1, 2
and Djokovic 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
and Edberg 1
and French Open 1
and impersonation 1
and media 1, 2
and mid-match treatment 1
and Nadal 1, 2, 3
and Switzerland 1
and US Open 1, 2
and Wimbledon 1, 2, 3, 4
Ferguson, Sarah 1
Ferrer, David 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Ferrer-Victoria, Cesar 1
First World War 1, 2, 3
Flushing Meadows see US Open championship
football 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and Serbia 1, 2
and Yugoslavia 1, 2, 3
footwork 1, 2, 3
foreign travel 1, 2, 3, 4
Franz Ferdinand, Archduke 1, 2
French Open championship 1, 2 2005 1, 2
2006 1
2007 1, 2
2008 1
2009 1
2010 1
2011 1
2012 1
2013 1, 2, 3, 4
Froebel, Friedrich 1
FSS association 1
Futures tournaments 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Garcia-Lopez, Guillermo 1
Gasquet, Richard 1
Gaudio, Gaston 1
Gemax 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Gencic, Jelena 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and Djokovic 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
and health 1, 2
and Pilic 1
and Seles 1
and Srdjan 1
and war 1
genocide 1, 2, 3
Germany 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; see also Munich
Gimeno-Traver, Daniel 1
Ginepri, Robby 1
gipsies 1, 2, 3, 4
gluten intolerance 1, 2, 3, 4
Graf, Steffi 1, 2
Grand Slam tournaments 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 junior 1, 2
Great Britain 1, 2, 3, 4
‘Grobari’ 1
Grosjean, Sebastien 1
Guccione, Chris 1
Haas, Tommy 1, 2
Haase, Robin 1
Hadzic, Goran 1, 2
Hanley, Paul 1
Harman, Neil 1
Henin, Justine 1
Henman, Tim 1
Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) 1
Hewitt, Lleyton 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
homosexuality 1
Hordoff, Dirk 1
Hungary 1, 2
hyperbaric chamber 1
IMG 1, 2
Indian Wells Masters 1, 2, 3, 4
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
International Day of Sport for Development and Peace 1
International Tennis Federation (ITF) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Isner, John 1
Italy 1, 2, 3, 4
Ivanisevic, Goran 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Ivanovic, Ana 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and ranking 1
and Serbia 1, 2
and war 1, 2
Izetbegovic, Alja 1, 2
Jankovic, Jelena 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Japan 1, 2, 3
Jarni, Robert 1
Jausovec, Mima 1
Jedanaesti April club 1, 2
Jelisavcic, Milos 1, 2, 3
Jeremic, Vuk 1, 2, 3
Karadjordjevo agreement (1991) 1
Karadzic, Radovan 1, 2, 3
Katic, Dejan 1, 2
Kfir, Tamir 1
Khakshourian, Allon 1, 2, 3, 4
Kia Motors 1
King, Billie Jean 1, 2
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes 1, 2, 3
Kis, Ladislav 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Kohlschreiber, Philipp 1
Kopaonik 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Kosovo 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and Djokovic 1, 2, 3
Kostunica, Vojislav 1
Kragujevac 1, 2, 3
Kucera, Karol 1
Kurir 1, 2
Kusamanovic, Branko 1, 2
Kusturica, Emir 1, 2, 3
Lacoste 1
Lajovic, Dusan 1, 2
language 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award 1
Laver, Rod 1, 2
Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) 1, 2, 3
Lendl, Ivan 1
‘Les Petits As’ tournament 1
Li Na 1
Ljubicic, Ivan 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and Djokovic 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
and nationality 1, 2
Llodra, Michael 1, 2
London Olympics 1, 2
Lundren, Peter 1
Macedonia 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and independence 1, 2
and Serbia 1
McEnroe, John 1, 2, 3, 4
McEnroe, Patrick 1
Madrid Masters 1, 2, 3, 4
Maria, Pascal 1, 2
Martin, Alberto 1
Martin, Todd 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Masters Series see Indian Wells; Madrid;
Miami;
Monte Carlo;
Rome
Melzer, Juergen 1, 2
Miami Masters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
mid-match treatment 1, 2, 3, 4
Mihajlovic, Sinisa 1, 2, 3
Milojevic, Nikola 1, 2
Milosavljevic, Zoran 1, 2
Milosevic, Slobodan 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and economy 1
and election 1
and football 1
and war crimes 1
minority groups 1, 2, 3
Mirkovic, Zoran 1
Mladic, Ratko 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
money 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Monfils, Gael 1, 2, 3
Monte Carlo Masters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Montenegro 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; see also Serbia & Montenegro
Moodie, Wesley 1, 2, 3
Mostar 1, 2
Moya, Carlos 1, 2
Munich 1, 2, 3
Murray, Andy 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and Australian Open 1, 2, 3
and blood tests 1
and
Djokovic 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
and Lendl 1
and Nadal 1, 2
and ranking 1, 2
and US Open 1
and Wimbledon 1
Murray, Jamie 1
music 1, 2, 3
Muslims 1, 2, 3, 4
Muslin, Slavojub 1
Nacertanije document (1844) 1
Nadal, Rafael 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and Australian Open 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
and comeback 1
and Djokovic 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
and Federer 1, 2
and French Open 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
and impersonation 1, 2
and mid-match treatment 1
and US Open 1, 2, 3
and Wimbledon 1, 2
Nalbandian, David 1, 2, 3
Naor, Amit 1, 2, 3, 4
nationalism 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and Milosevic 1, 2, 3, 4
Nato bombings 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Navratilova, Martina 1, 2
Nesic, Marco 1
Nestor, Daniel 1
net playing 1, 2, 3, 4
Nike 1, 2, 3
Nili, Ali 1
Nishikori, Kei 1
Novak (restaurant) 1, 2, 3, 4
Novak Academy 1
Novak Djokovic Foundation (NDF) 1, 2, 3
Obilic club 1
Obradovic, Bogdan 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and Davis Cup 1, 2, 3, 4