Srdjan Djokovic

Djokovic was born in Mitrovica to parents Stanka and Vladimir, and grew up in the nearby town of Zvečan, Kosovo, which at the time was part of the Yugoslav Republic of Serbia.{{sfn|Wilbon|2012|pp=304}} He has a sister, Jelena, and a younger brother, Goran. After completing high school, he moved to Belgrade to study law, but did not finish the studies. Later on, the whole family moved to Belgrade.{{cite book|last=Müksch |first=D. |year=2022 |title=Novak Djokovic: Ein Leben lang im Krieg |trans-title=Novak Djokovic: A lifetime at war |publisher=Die Werkstatt |isbn=9783730706046 |language=de}} During winters, he worked as a ski coach in the winter resorts of Kopaonik and Brezovica, where he met his future wife Dijana Žagar in 1986. They are the parents of three sons: Novak (born 1987), Marko{{Cite book |last=Biographies |first=Belmont and Belcourt |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IFWA0tx6BDoC&dq=srdjan+djokovic&pg=PT7 |title=Novak Djokovic: An Unauthorized Biography |date=August 2012 |publisher=Price World Publishing |isbn=978-1-61984-179-6 |language=en}} (born 1991), and Djordje (born 1995).

Djokovic is a former professional skier{{Cite news |last=McElwee |first=Molly |date=26 January 2023 |title=Who is Novak Djokovic's father Srdjan and what are the pro-Putin 'Night Wolves'? |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2023/01/26/who-novak-djokovics-father-srdjan-what-pro-putin-night-wolves/ |access-date=26 January 2023 |issn=0307-1235}} and ski coach,{{Cite web |last=Mathew |first=Melvin |date=11 July 2022 |title=How Novak Djokovic's Parents Shaped His Legendary Tennis Career? |url=https://www.sportsmanor.com/tennis-news-how-novak-djokovics-parents-shaped-his-legendary-tennis-career/ |access-date=26 January 2023 |website=Sportsmanor |language=en-US}} who worked in the Kopaonik ski resort, Serbia's leading ski resort and a popular tourist destination in the mountains 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Belgrade.{{cite magazine |first=Maik |last=Grossekathöfer |url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/street-fighter-artist-and-patriot-tennis-star-djokovic-is-the-pride-of-new-serbia-a-790484.html |title=Street Fighter, Artist and Patriot: Tennis Star Djokovic Is the Pride of New Serbia |date=7 October 2011 |magazine=Der Spiegel |access-date=7 November 2023}} He is currently the owner-operator of the Red Bull pizza restaurant and a sports shop in the Serbian mountains. He opened the restaurant, which has no connection to the drinks company with the same name, in the late 1980s,{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/04/sports/tennis/04djokovic.html |title=From a Ski Resort, Djokovic Emerges as a Serbian Tennis Groundbreaker |website=The New York Times |url-access=subscription |first1=Christopher |last1=Clarey |date=3 December 2010 |access-date=8 November 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103020229/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/04/sports/tennis/04djokovic.html |archive-date= November 3, 2023 }} and it still exists to this day. While some accounts describe Djokovic as a former player at the Serbian football club FK Trepča, the 2022 book Ein Leben lang im Krieg (English: A lifetime at war) by Daniel Müksch reports a lack of supporting evidence of this.

In 2011, Djokovic attempted to unseat Serbia Tennis Federation president Slobodan Živojinović, but ultimately failed to do so.{{Cite book |last=Schurman |first=Kyle |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6JF-BwAAQBAJ&dq=srdjan+djokovic&pg=PT47 |title=Novak Djokovic Bio: A Perfect Season? |date=6 October 2011 |publisher=Hyperink Inc |isbn=978-1-61464-546-7 |language=en}}

File:Robert DeNiro at the 2007 US Open.jpg (left) and Srdjan Djokovic (right) at the 2007 US Open]]

When Novak was four, Djokovic and his wife gave him a mini-racket and a soft foam ball, which became "the most beloved toy in his life".{{Cite web |last=Cutler |first=Teddy |date=13 March 2016 |title=Exclusive: Novak Djokovic's father talks Andy Murray, Roger Federer and his son's career |url=https://www.newsweek.com/novak-djokovic-father-exclusive-interview-436106 |access-date=7 November 2021 |website=Newsweek}} Djokovic taught him to ski from a very early age, but it was tennis that won him over,{{cite web |url=http://novakdjokovic.com/en/novak-djokovic |title=Djokovic, Novak |publisher=novakdjokovic.com |access-date=8 November 2023}} so he and his wife sent him to a tennis camp in Novi Sad. Because of his job in the Kopaonik ski resort, Djokovic and his family spent the summer and winter vacations in Mount Kopaonik, and it was there that the state-owned Yugoslav company Genex, which developed much of Kopaonik, chose to build three tennis courts just across the parking lot from where the Djokovics opened their Red Bull restaurant. In the summer of 1993, he allowed the six-year-old Novak to join a tennis camp that was being held on those courts by the Teniski Klub Partizan, under the supervision of Yugoslav tennis player Jelena Genčić.{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=3243000 |title=Behind every good man is an even better woman coach |last=Drucker |first=Joel |publisher=ESPN |date=14 February 2008 |access-date=8 July 2011}}

Since no one in the Djokovic family had a tennis background, his parents asked experts whether Novak had sufficient potential and talent to pursue a tennis career and whether they should invest in it;{{Cite web |url=https://ausopen.com/articles/news/novak-djokovic-writing-his-own-history |title=Novak Djokovic: Writing his own history |website=ausopen.com |date=18 August 2023 |access-date=8 November 2023}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/sports/tennis/shaped-by-hardship-djokovic-grateful-tennis-mother-tennis-father-2023-06-11/ |title=Shaped by hardship, Djokovic grateful for 'tennis mother' and 'tennis father' |website=www.reuters.com |date=12 June 2023 |access-date=8 November 2023}} ultimately it was Genčić who gave them those assurances, telling them that they had "a golden child". Genčić's words were the ones that Djokovic and his wife repeated amongst themselves to help justify the sacrifices they would go on to make for Novak's career. After the summer camp ended, Novak and Genčić began training together intensively at Belgrade's Partizan Tennis Club. Since Djokovic and Dijana at the time were focused on Kopaonik and working at the restaurant, they asked Djokovic's brother Goran to occasionally drop Novak off and pick him up from training in Belgrade and to also accompany him to local tournaments.{{sfn|Bowers|2014|p=chapter six}}

During the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, Djokovic and his family spent several hours in the basement{{Cite web |url=https://www.biography.com/athletes/novak-djokovic |title=Novak Djokovic: Biography, Tennis Player, Grand Slam Champion |website=www.biography.com |date=11 September 2023 |access-date=8 November 2023}} and in shelters during the first few nights before eventually deciding to go on living their old routines as normal as possible. On 22 May, Djokovic and his family were celebrating Novak's 12th birthday at the Partizan club when an air strike began while he and his wife were singing Happy Birthday to You. Talking about his parents, Novak stated: "My mother is a rock who kept the family together in the toughest moments. My father is the driving force of the family, someone who has instilled in me such power of belief and positive thinking".

File:Novak Djokovic Trophy Wimbledon 2019 -edited.jpg.]]

Due to his rapid development, Genčić advised Djokovic and Dijana that if they wanted him to keep progressing, he had to leave the country. To that end, Genčić contacted Nikola Pilić and in September 1999 the 12-year-old moved to the Pilić tennis academy in Germany, spending four years there. At that time, a difficult economic and political situation was looming over Serbia, so the decision to let Novak move to Germany was difficult, but it was the only logical thing to do. Djokovic acted on Genčić's assessment, and in addition to Germany, he also took his son to train at academies in the United States and Italy. The travel and training were a financial drain on the family, and although Pilić offered a special price of 5,000 Deutsche Marks a month, it was still much more than what the Djokovic family could afford, so he tried unsuccessfully to look for sponsors and even investors, but no one was willing to sign a contract. At one point, he convinced Serbian businessman Filip Cepter to agree to cover the costs of Novak's stay at the Pilic Academy, but this large financial aid ended up never happening because of Slobodan "Boba" Živojinović, a former tennis player, who allegedly told Cepter that "Novak is good, but he has a sick heart, a sick heel and a dad who is impossible to cooperate with".{{Cite web |url=https://www.kurir.rs/sport/tenis/3288299/uspeh-je-najveca-osveta-srdjan-je-pre-16-godina-trazio-investitore-da-uloze-u-novaka-jedan-covek-je-nudio-pomoc-ali-ga-je-odgovorio-boba-zivojinovic |title=USPEH JE NAJVEĆA OSVETA Srđan je pre 16 godina tražio investitore da ulože u Novaka, jedan čovek je nudio pomoć ali ga je odgovorio Boba Živojinović! |trans-title=SUCCESS IS THE GREATEST REVENGE 16 years ago, Srđan was looking for investors to invest in Novak, one man offered help, but Boba Živojinović answered him! |language=Serbian |website=www.kurir.rs |date=19 July 2019 |access-date=8 November 2023}}

Djokovic ultimately decided to take out high-interest loans to help pay for his son's tennis education, which naturally put Novak under immense pressure to deliver. He borrowed money at absurdly high-interest rates, once at 10 percent per year, another time at 15 percent. Djokovic gambled and bet everything on his son. If Novak had not made it as a professional, the family would have been ruined. Djokovic and his wife put all of their resources and assets to help Novak, so much so that they sacrificed and neglected their other kids. In a rare television interview, Djokovic said of his second and third sons: "I tried to discourage them, but to no avail. Their own brother is the greatest idol to them. They do not have to look elsewhere. They are trying hard and want to be like Novak".{{sfn|Bowers|2014|p=chapter six}}

In 2022, Djokovic criticised the Government of Australia for not letting Novak enter the country due to COVID-19 public health rules.{{Cite news |date=16 January 2022 |title='Muhammad Ali was vilified too': Serbians blast Australian government over Djokovic's deportation |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-17/serbia-reacts-anger-and-sadness-novak-djokovic-ruling/100760436 |access-date=26 January 2023}} On 6 January, the eve of Orthodox Christmas day, Djokovic compared his son's detention in Australia to the Crucifixion of Jesus.{{Cite news |date=6 January 2022 |title=Novak Djokovic 'lured to Australia to be humiliated', says Serbia |language=en-UK |work=Guardian News |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/07/novak-djokovic-lured-to-australia-to-be-humiliated-says-serbia}}

In January 2023, he was seen during the Australian Open tennis tournament near the Rod Laver Arena{{Cite web |last=Nabbi |first=Zayn |date=26 January 2023 |title=Novak Djokovic's father poses with fan wearing pro-Russia 'Z' symbol |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/26/tennis/djokovic-father-z-symbol-russia-intl-spt/index.html |access-date=26 January 2023 |website=CNN |language=en}} with a pro-Vladimir Putin motorcycle gang called the Night Wolves.{{Cite news |title=Djokovic's father filmed with Putin supporters |language=en-GB |work=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/64409618 |access-date=26 January 2023}}{{Cite news |date=26 January 2023 |title=Novak Djokovic's father seen posing with Putin supporters carrying Russian flags at Australian Open |work=CBC |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/tennis/australian-open-djokovic-father-russian-flags-1.6726581}} Vasyl Myroshnychenko, the Ukrainian ambassador to Australia, called for Djokovic to be banned from the subsequent tennis match in the competition.{{Cite news |last=Briggs |first=Simon |date=26 January 2023 |title=Novak Djokovic's father facing Australian Open ban calls after pro-Putin video |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2023/01/26/novak-djokovics-father-srdjan-seen-pro-russian-demonstrators/ |access-date=27 January 2023 |issn=0307-1235}} Djokovic subsequently stated that he would not attend the January 27 semi-final to avoid disrupting it.{{Cite web |date=27 January 2023 |title=Novak Djokovic's dad stays away from Australian Open semifinal |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/novak-djokovic-s-dad-stays-away-from-australian-open-semifinal-1.6248693 |access-date=27 January 2023 |website=CTVNews |language=en}} Srdjan Djokovic later stated that he did not intend to post with the pro-Russian gangsters and mistakenly thought he was posing for photos with Serbian tennis fans.{{Cite web |date=29 January 2023 |title=Novak Djokovic defends father after video with Vladimir Putin supporters |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis/novak-djokovic-father-putin-australian-open-b2271411.html |access-date=31 January 2023 |website=The Independent |language=en}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{cite book|last=Wilbon|first=Michael|title=The Best American Sports Writing 2012|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|year=2012|isbn=978-0547336978 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lVbmST8hFz4C&dq=srdjan+djokovic&pg=PA304}}
• {{Cite book |last=Biographies |first=Belmont and Belcourt |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IFWA0tx6BDoC&dq=srdjan+djokovic&pg=PT7 |title=Novak Djokovic: An Unauthorized Biography |date=August 2012 |publisher=Price World Publishing |isbn=978-1-61984-179-6 |language=en}}
• {{Cite book |last=Schurman |first=Kyle |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6JF-BwAAQBAJ&dq=srdjan+djokovic&pg=PT47 |title=Novak Djokovic Bio: A Perfect Season? |date=6 October 2011 |publisher=Hyperink Inc |isbn=978-1-61464-546-7 |language=en}}
• {{cite book|last=Bowers|first=Chris|title=The Sporting Statesman - Novak Djokovic and the Rise of Serbia|year=2014|publisher=Kings Road Publishing|location=London|isbn=9781782197706}}

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{{Novak Djokovic}}

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Category:1961 births

Category:Living people

Category:Serbian skiers

Category:Novak Djokovic

Category:Eastern Orthodox Christians from Serbia

Category:Sportspeople from Mitrovica, Kosovo

Category:Businesspeople from Mitrovica, Kosovo

Category:Skiing coaches

Category:Restaurateurs

Category:Businesspeople in retailing

Category:Businesspeople from Belgrade

Category:Serbian businesspeople

Category:Kosovo Serbs

Category:Members of the Serbian Orthodox Church