Novak Djokovic is one of the most recognisable figures in world tennis today. The eccentric but lovable Serb exploded onto the scene and took the ATP rankings by storm, winning his first grand slam title in 2008, 5 years after turning pro.
We take a look at some interesting facts about this often extroverted tennis phenom.
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Gluten intolerant
Novak Djokovic released a book titled
Serve To Win, which details his early years in Serbia and contains a practical guide to his diet and fitness regime. In this book he outlines how consumption of certain foods unwittingly triggered his intolerance for gluten.
This realisation came in the most peculiar manner. Dr Igor Cetojevic watched the Serb against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Australian Open as Novak got a sudden attack of breathlessness and nausea. Many thought it was an asthma attack, but not the good doctor who eventually contacted Novak and got him on track to becoming a dominant force in world tennis.
Spotted at age 6
Jelena Gencic spotted a young Novak Djokovic at age 6, commending him as the greatest talent she had ever seen since Monika Seles. She decided to train him for 6 years and he eventually moved to the Pilic Academy in Munich.
A nightmare to play against
At his best he is unstoppable. He is the only player to have a better win percentage ratio over both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, 52% and 53% respectively. He has beaten both players in consecutive matches in a Grand Slam and is the only player to defeat both Nadal and Federer in the same tournament on 3 different occasions.
Multi-lingual
Djokovic can fluently speak several languages including Serbian, Italian, German and English. His love affair with the Shanghai Masters tournament only gets stronger with each victory, after each match he usually signs the camera in Mandarin. A nice touch to pay homage to his enthusiastic Chinese fan base.
Strange habits
Everything that Djokovic is not, makes him who is he. Amongst his many idiosyncratic habits, he always eats the grass at Wimbledon. According to him, it tastes like sweat.
He is virtually inseparable from his pet Pierre. He was genuinely upset when his dog was not allowed at Wimbledon. He occasionally feigns injury if he gets down in matches, and has been accused of pretending to be hurt on multiple occasions. He enjoys impersonating players, especially Nadal and Serena Williams.
One of the greats
The charismatic Serb is considered one of the greatest tennis players in the history of the sport. Many critics have classified his matches as some of the biggest and monumental contests ever; the 2012 Australian open being one match that tops the list. This a testament to his greatness as a tennis player.