269 Facts About Djokovic

Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player.

Djokovic is currently ranked world No 7 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals .

Djokovic has been ranked world No 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No 1 a record seven times.

Djokovic has won 21 Grand Slam men's singles titles, including a record nine Australian Open titles.

Djokovic has completed a non-calendar year Grand Slam in singles, becoming the only man in tennis history to be the reigning champion of the four majors at once across three different surfaces.

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Djokovic is the first man in the Open Era to achieve a double Career Grand Slam in singles and the only player to complete the Career Golden Masters in singles on the ATP Tour, which he has done twice.

In 2011, Djokovic ascended to No 1 for the first time, winning three out of the four majors and five Masters titles.

Djokovic remained the most successful player in men's tennis for the rest of the decade, leading the tour at majors, Masters, and Year-end Championships.

In 2015, Djokovic had his most successful season, reaching 15 consecutive finals and winning a season-record 10 Big Titles – three majors, six Masters, and the Year-end Championships.

Djokovic's dominant run extended until the 2016 French Open where he completed a non-calendar year Grand Slam and his first Career Grand Slam, becoming the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four majors at once and setting a record for most ranking points accumulated as world No 1.

Djokovic has won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award four times, the BBC Sports Personality World Sport Star of the Year award in 2011 and the L'Equipe Champion of Champions award in 2021.

Djokovic is a recipient of the Order of St Sava, the Order of Karadorde's Star, and the Order of the Republika Srpska.

Beyond competition, Djokovic is an active philanthropist and a former ATP player council president.

Novak Djokovic was born on 22 May 1987 in Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia, to Dijana and Srdan Ðokovic.

Djokovic began playing tennis at the age of four, after his parents gave him a mini-racket and a soft foam ball, which his father claimed became "the most beloved toy in his life".

Djokovic is a self-described fan of languages, speaking Serbian, English, French, German, and Italian.

Djokovic met his future wife, Jelena Ristic, in high school, and began dating her in 2005.

Djokovic played at the French Open and US Open junior events in 2003.

Djokovic turned professional in 2003 by entering the ATP Tour, around the time Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal established themselves as the two dominant players in men's tennis.

Djokovic made his first Grand Slam tournament appearance by qualifying for the 2005 Australian Open, where he was defeated by eventual champion Marat Safin in the first round in straight sets, after defeating future rival Stan Wawrinka in qualifying.

Djokovic went on to reach the third round of both Wimbledon and the US Open, coming back from two sets down to defeat Guillermo Garcia Lopez in the former, and beating Gael Monfils and Mario Ancic in the latter.

Djokovic participated in four Masters events and qualified for two of them, his best performance coming in Paris, where he reached the third round and defeated fourth seed Mariano Puerta along the way.

Djokovic reached the top 40 in the world singles rankings after making his first quarterfinal appearance at a Grand Slam event, coming at the French Open, and by reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon that year.

Three weeks after Wimbledon, Djokovic won his first ATP title at the Dutch Open in Amersfoort without losing a set, defeating Nicolas Massu in the final.

Djokovic won his second career title at the Moselle Open in Metz, France, and moved into the top 20.

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Djokovic reached his first career Masters quarterfinal at Madrid during the indoor hardcourt season.

Djokovic began 2007 by defeating Australian Chris Guccione in the final of the tournament in Adelaide, before losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open to eventual champion Roger Federer in straight sets.

Djokovic lost the Indian Wells final to Rafael Nadal, but defeated Nadal in Key Biscayne in the quarterfinals before defeating Guillermo Canas for the title in the final.

Djokovic then reached the quarterfinals of both the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome, where he lost to Nadal, and the Hamburg Masters, where he was defeated by Carlos Moya.

At the French Open, Djokovic reached his first major semi-final, losing to eventual champion Nadal.

At Wimbledon, Djokovic won a five-hour quarterfinal against Marcos Baghdatis.

Djokovic was only the second player, after Tomas Berdych, to have defeated both Federer and Nadal since they became the top two players in the world.

Djokovic won his fifth title of the year at the BA-CA TennisTrophy in Vienna, defeating Stanislas Wawrinka in the final.

Djokovic, assured of finishing the year ranked No 3, qualified for the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup, but did not advance beyond the round robin matches.

Djokovic received the Golden Badge award for the best athlete in Serbia, and the Olympic Committee of Serbia declared him the best athlete in the country.

Djokovic played a key role in the 2007 play-off win over Australia by winning all his matches and helping promote the Serbia Davis Cup team to the 2008 World Group.

In Serbia's tie against Russia in Moscow in early 2008, Djokovic was sidelined due to influenza and missed his first singles match.

Djokovic returned to win his doubles match, teaming with Nenad Zimonjic, before retiring during his singles match with Nikolay Davydenko.

Djokovic started the year by playing the Hopman Cup with fellow Serbian world No 3 Jelena Jankovic.

At the Australian Open, Djokovic reached his second consecutive Grand Slam final, this time without dropping a set, including a victory over two-time defending champion Federer in the semi-finals.

At the Pacific Life Masters in Indian Wells, Djokovic won his ninth career singles title, defeating Mardy Fish in the final.

Djokovic won his tenth career singles title and fourth Master Series singles crown at the Italian Open in Rome after defeating Wawrinka in the final.

The following week he lost to Nadal in the semi-finals at the Hamburg Masters, At the French Open, Djokovic was the third-seeded player behind Federer and Nadal.

Djokovic entered Wimbledon seeded third but lost in the second round to Safin, ending a streak of five consecutive majors where he had reached at least the semi-finals.

Djokovic then failed to defend his 2007 singles title at the Rogers Cup in Toronto – he was eliminated in the quarterfinals by eighth-seeded Andy Murray.

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Djokovic then defeated James Blake, the loser of the other semi-final, in the bronze medal match.

Djokovic's run at the US Open ended in the semi-finals when he lost to Federer in four sets, in a rematch of the previous year's final.

Djokovic went on to play four tournaments after the US Open.

Djokovic then beat Nikolay Davydenko in three sets, before losing his final round-robin match against Tsonga.

Djokovic started the year at the Brisbane International, where he was upset by Ernests Gulbis in the first round.

The following week, Djokovic was the defending champion at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells but lost to Roddick in the quarterfinals.

At the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Djokovic beat Federer in the semi-finals, before losing to Murray in the final.

Djokovic reached the final of the next Masters event, the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on clay, losing to Nadal in the final.

At the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, Djokovic failed to defend the title he had won the previous year, losing in the final.

Djokovic was the top seed at his hometown tournament, the Serbia Open in Belgrade.

Djokovic defeated first-time finalist Lukasz Kubot to win his second title of the year.

Djokovic began his grass court season at the Gerry Weber Open where after the withdrawal of Federer, he competed as the top seed.

Djokovic then lost to Haas in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.

At the Cincinnati Masters, Djokovic defeated third-ranked Nadal in the semi-finals before losing in the final to No 1 Federer.

At the US Open, Djokovic made the semi-finals, having dropped only two sets, defeating Ivan Ljubicic, 15th seed Radek Stepanek and 10th seed Fernando Verdasco before being defeated by Federer.

At the China Open in Beijing, Djokovic defeated Victor Hanescu, Viktor Troicki, Verdasco, and Robin Soderling en route to the final, where he defeated Marin Cilic in straight sets to win his third title of the year.

Djokovic then lost in the semi-finals of the inaugural Shanghai ATP Masters to Davydenko.

At the last Masters event of the year at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, Djokovic won his first Masters title of the year by defeating Nadal in the semi-finals, before outlasting Gael Monfils in the final.

Djokovic played a large role in promoting Serbia to the 2009 World Group.

Djokovic started his year by playing in the AAMI Classic, an exhibition event.

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At the Dubai Tennis Championships, Djokovic reached the final, this time defeating Youzhny to win his first title of the year.

Djokovic then announced that he had ceased working with Todd Martin as his coach.

Djokovic again lost to Verdasco at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, this time in the quarterfinals.

Djokovic defeated Evgeny Korolev, Kei Nishikori, Victor Hanescu, and Robby Ginepri en route to the quarterfinals, where he lost to Jurgen Melzer in five sets.

Djokovic entered Wimbledon as the third seed, defeating Rochus, Taylor Dent, Albert Montanes, Lleyton Hewitt, and Yen-Hsun Lu en route to the semi-finals, which he lost to Tomas Berdych in straight sets.

Djokovic then competed at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, where he lost to Federer in the semi-finals.

Djokovic competed in doubles with Nadal in a one-time, high-profile partnership.

Djokovic then lost to Roddick in the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Masters.

Djokovic then defeated Philipp Petzschner, James Blake, Mardy Fish, and No 17 seed Gael Monfils, all in straight sets, to reach the US Open semi-finals for the fourth consecutive year.

Djokovic went on to lose to Nadal in the final, a match that saw Nadal complete his career Grand Slam.

Djokovic won the title for the second successive year, after defeating Maoxin Gong, Mardy Fish, Gilles Simon, and John Isner en route to the final.

Djokovic played his final tournament of the year at the ATP Finals in London.

Djokovic was placed in Group A along with Nadal, Berdych, and Roddick.

Djokovic defeated Roddick in his final round-robin match and advanced to the semi-finals, where he lost to Federer in two sets.

Djokovic went on to win his two singles rubbers in Serbia's Davis Cup final victory over France.

Djokovic finished the year ranked No 3, his fourth successive finish at this position.

Djokovic was awarded the title "Serbian Sportsman of the year" by the Olympic Committee of Serbia and "Serbian Athlete of the year" by DSL Sport.

Djokovic won ten tournaments in 2011, including three Grand Slam tournament victories at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.

Djokovic captured a then-record-breaking five ATP Masters titles, and set a then-record for the most prize money won in a single season on the ATP Tour .

Djokovic held a 41-match winning streak from the start of the season to the French Open semi-finals, when he lost to Federer.

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Djokovic was beaten by John Isner in the semi-finals at Indian Wells.

Djokovic lost in straight sets to Nadal at the 2012 Rome Masters final.

Djokovic reached his maiden French Open final by defeating Roger Federer, reaching the final of all four majors consecutively.

Djokovic had the chance to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four major titles at once, having won last year's Wimbledon and US Open titles as well as this year's Australian Open, but was beaten by Nadal in the final in four sets.

On 2 August 2012, Djokovic defeated French fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and advanced to the semi-finals, where he was beaten by Murray in straight sets.

Djokovic successively defended his Rogers Cup title, dropping just a single set to Tommy Haas.

At the US Open, Djokovic reached his third consecutive final by beating fourth-seeded David Ferrer in a match suspended a day due to rain.

Djokovic went on to defend his China Open title, defeating Tsonga in straight sets.

On 12 November 2012, Djokovic won the 2012 ATP Finals by defeating Federer in the final.

Djokovic began the 2013 season by defeating Andy Murray in the final of the 2013 Australian Open to win a record third consecutive Australian Open trophy and the sixth major of his career.

On 2 March 2013, Djokovic defeated Tomas Berdych in the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships.

The following week, Djokovic entered the Miami Masters as the defending champion, but lost in the fourth round to Tommy Haas in straight sets.

Djokovic clinched a tie for his team by defeating John Isner and Sam Querrey.

Djokovic began his French Open campaign with wins over David Goffin, Guido Pella, and Dimitrov in straight sets.

Djokovic went on to reach the US Open final, where he met Nadal for the 37th time in his career .

Djokovic won his 16th Masters title in Paris at the end of the season, beating David Ferrer in the final.

At the 2013 ATP Finals Djokovic retained his trophy, beating Nadal in straight sets.

Djokovic began the year with a warmup tournament win, the 2013 Mubadala Championship.

Djokovic met Wawrinka in the quarterfinals of the tournament, the second consecutive year the two had met at the event.

Djokovic won his third Indian Wells Masters title, defeating Federer in the final.

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Djokovic reached the final of the French Open losing only two sets in six matches, but lost in the final to Nadal in four sets.

Djokovic played at the Rogers Cup, losing to eventual first-time champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets.

Djokovic followed that with a loss to Tommy Robredo at the Cincinnati Masters.

At the US Open, Djokovic reached the semi-finals, where he lost in four sets to Kei Nishikori.

Djokovic returned to Beijing with a fifth trophy in six years, defeating Murray in the semi-final and Berdych in the final.

Djokovic then won the Paris Bercy masters title, without losing a single set, beating Raonic in the final.

Djokovic was awarded the ATP Finals trophy after Federer withdrew before the final.

Djokovic began the season at the Qatar Open in Doha, where he won his first two rounds for the loss of just 6 games lost in the quarterfinals against Ivo Karlovic in three tight sets.

Djokovic rebounded from this defeat well at the Australian Open, where he made it through the first five rounds without dropping a set.

Djokovic twice lost a set lead came roaring back in the fifth to take it to love, and set up a third final against Andy Murray.

Djokovic moved into equal eighth on the all-time list of men with the most Major titles, tying Agassi, Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors, Ken Rosewall and Fred Perry.

Djokovic next competed at the Dubai Championships and lost to Federer in the final.

Djokovic won the title for the fourth time at the Rome Masters, making it 4 out of 4 titles in Masters events entered by Djokovic in the season.

Djokovic continued his good form on clay at the French Open by reaching the final without dropping a set in the first five rounds, including a quarterfinal clash with Nadal and a five-set semi-final victory over No 3 seed Andy Murray which took two days to complete.

At the US Open, Djokovic reached the final for the sixth time in his career, achieving the feat of reaching all four Grand Slam finals in a single calendar year.

Djokovic then reached the final of the Paris Masters, where he defeated Murray in straight sets, taking his fourth title there and a record sixth ATP Masters tournament in one year.

Djokovic beat Federer in straight sets winning his fifth ATP Finals title and becoming the first player to win the Year-end Championships four consecutive times.

Djokovic won 11 titles including a season-record 10 Big Titles on all court surfaces and conditions .

Djokovic set a season-record for most ranking points accumulated as world No 1.

Djokovic collected his 60th career title in Doha, defeating Rafael Nadal in two sets in a final that lasted 73 minutes.

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Djokovic quickly rebounded from an eye infection at the Dubai Open to collect a fifth Indian Wells Masters title, defeating Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals, and Milos Raonic in the final.

On 3 April 2016, Djokovic won the Miami Open for the third consecutive year, and did so without dropping a set en route to his sixth career Miami Open title, tying him with Andre Agassi for most ever Miami Open men's singles titles.

Djokovic defeated Andy Murray in the final of the French Open in four sets, making him the reigning champion of all four major tournaments, a historic feat the media dubbed the Nole Slam.

Djokovic was defeated by Roberto Bautista Agut and Marin Cilic in the semi-finals and quarterfinals of Shanghai and Paris.

On 21 May 2017, Djokovic announced that Andre Agassi would become his new coach, starting at the 2017 French Open.

Djokovic began the grass-court season at the Eastbourne International, playing his first non-Wimbledon tournament on grass since 2010.

Djokovic won the title by beating Gael Monfils in the final.

Djokovic made it to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon before retiring against Tomas Berdych due to an elbow injury.

On 26 July, Djokovic announced he would miss the US Open and the rest of the 2017 season to recover from his elbow injury.

Djokovic then lost to Benoit Paire in the second round of the Miami Open.

Djokovic then reached the quarterfinals of the French Open before losing to Marco Cecchinato.

Djokovic began the grass court season at Queen's Club, securing his first win over a top 5 player in almost 18 months by defeating Grigor Dimitrov in the second round.

Djokovic reached the final where, despite holding a championship point, he lost to Marin Cilic.

Djokovic played doubles partnering with longtime friend and rival Stan Wawrinka.

Djokovic then entered Wimbledon as the 12th seed, where he reached the semifinals to face Rafael Nadal.

Djokovic defeated Nadal in a 5-hour and 17-minute, five-set match spread over two days.

Djokovic then defeated Juan Martin del Potro to win his third US Open title and 14th major title overall, tying Pete Sampras' tally.

At the Shanghai Masters, Djokovic defeated Kevin Anderson and Alexander Zverev en route to the title, not dropping a set nor having his serve broken throughout.

At the ATP Finals, Djokovic was guaranteed a fifth year-end No 1 ranking following the withdrawal of Rafael Nadal from the event.

Djokovic then entered the Australian Open as the top seed, and defeated Rafael Nadal in the final to win his record seventh Australian Open and 15th major title overall.

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Djokovic then played at the Indian Wells Masters, where he was upset by Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round, and lost in the fourth round of the Miami Open to Bautista Agut.

Djokovic then began his clay court season at the Monte Carlo Masters, losing in the quarterfinals to Daniil Medvedev.

Djokovic competed in the French Open, reaching the semifinals without dropping a set.

At Wimbledon, Djokovic defended his title to win his fifth Wimbledon title and 16th major title overall, defeating Roger Federer in an epic five-set final that lasted a record four hours and fifty seven minutes.

Djokovic, who won less points overall than Federer, saved two championship points in the fifth set to win the title.

Djokovic next played at the Cincinnati Open as the defending champion, but lost to eventual champion Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals.

At the Shanghai Masters, Djokovic reached the quarterfinal stage, but lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Djokovic then played at the 2019 ATP Finals but was eliminated in the round robin stage after losses to Dominic Thiem and Federer .

At the inaugural 2020 ATP Cup, Djokovic led Serbia to the title by scoring six victories, including wins over Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals and Rafael Nadal in the final.

Djokovic then won the title at Dubai Tennis Championships for the fifth time, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.

Djokovic was criticized for holding the event with a lack of social distancing and other precautions taken against COVID-19.

Djokovic stated he was "deeply sorry", admitting he and organisers "were wrong" to go ahead with the event and that they believed the tournament met all health protocols.

Djokovic said that many of the criticisms were malicious, adding: "It's obviously more than just criticism, it's like an agenda and a witch hunt".

The United States Tennis Association docked Djokovic all ranking points he would have earned at the tournament and fined him the prize money that he would have won had the incident not occurred.

Djokovic next won a record 36th Masters 1000 title and his fifth in Rome, defeating Diego Schwartzman in the final.

At the rescheduled French Open, Djokovic lost in straight sets to Rafael Nadal in the final.

Djokovic then played at the Vienna Open, where he was upset in the quarterfinals by Lorenzo Sonego in straight sets.

Djokovic began his 2021 season by playing for Serbia as the defending champions in the ATP Cup, but the nation was eliminated in the group stage despite Djokovic winning both his singles matches.

Djokovic then went on to win his 18th major title and record-extending ninth title at the Australian Open, over Daniil Medvedev in the final.

Djokovic next played at the Monte Carlo Masters, where he lost his third round match to Dan Evans.

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Djokovic then played at the Serbia Open, losing a lengthy three-set semifinal to Aslan Karatsev.

At the Italian Open, Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas and Lorenzo Sonego, but lost in a three-set final to Rafael Nadal.

Djokovic became the first player in the Open Era to win a Major after coming back from a two-set deficit in two separate matches; Djokovic became only the third man to win all four singles majors twice, and the first to do so in the Open Era.

At the 2021 Wimbledon Championships, Djokovic recorded the 100th grass-court win by reaching the semifinals, and defeated Matteo Berrettini in the final to claim his sixth Wimbledon title and equal Federer and Nadal's all-time record of 20 men's singles major titles.

Djokovic became the second player to win Majors on three different surfaces in the same year and the fifth man in the Open Era to achieve the "Channel Slam", winning the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year.

Djokovic opened his summer hard court season at the Tokyo Olympics, where he sought to improve on his bronze medal result from Beijing 2008.

Djokovic competed in mixed doubles partnering Nina Stojanovic; the pair lost in the semifinals to Aslan Karatsev and Elena Vesnina, then withdrew from their bronze medal match against WTA singles No 1 Ashleigh Barty and John Peers, with Djokovic citing a shoulder injury.

Djokovic then entered the US Open vying to be the third man in history to achieve the Grand Slam in men's singles.

At the Paris Masters, Djokovic defeated Hubert Hurkacz to reach the final, which secured the year-end No 1 ranking for a seventh time, breaking Pete Sampras' all-time record.

Djokovic finished the season by leading Serbia to the semifinals of 2021 Davis Cup Finals, where they lost to Croatia.

Djokovic was set to begin his 2022 season by participating in the ATP Cup in Sydney but pulled out.

Djokovic was one of "a handful" of players and staff to be granted a medical exemption by Tennis Australia and the Department of Health in Victoria.

Djokovic had been granted a visa to enter Australia on 18 November 2021.

Djokovic disclosed that a member of his support team ticked a box on his application form stating he had not travelled abroad two weeks before he left for Australia; however, he had been to Spain at that time.

Djokovic's visa was cancelled and he was held in an immigration detention hotel for several days awaiting a court hearing.

On 14 January 2022, Alex Hawke, Australia's Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, exercised his ministerial powers under the Migration Act 1958 to cancel Djokovic's visa, citing "health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so".

Djokovic applied for a judicial review, but three Federal Court of Australia judges unanimously dismissed his application on 16 January, preventing his participation in the 2022 Australian Open.

Djokovic said he was "extremely disappointed" with the decision but accepted the ruling, and flew out of Australia to Dubai that night.

Djokovic said: "The amount of pressure and everything that I was feeling in the first few months of the year, as much as I've felt pressure in my life and my career, that was something really on a whole different level".

Djokovic was upset in the quarterfinals by Jiri Vesely, resulting in him conceding his world No 1 ranking to Daniil Medvedev.

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Djokovic withdrew from both the Indian Wells Masters and the Miami Open, due to the United States forbidding unvaccinated foreign travellers.

Djokovic received a bye in the first round and lost to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second, his first opening match loss since the 2018 Barcelona Open.

Djokovic lost in four sets, ending his French Open title defence.

Djokovic went on to defeat Nick Kyrgios in the final in four sets for his fourth consecutive and seventh overall Wimbledon trophy.

Djokovic is the first player to have at least ten match wins against Nadal and the only person to defeat Nadal seven times consecutively .

Djokovic played Federer in his first Major final at the 2007 US Open and lost in three sets.

Djokovic had more wins against Roger Federer than any other player.

Djokovic is the only player other than Nadal who has defeated Federer in consecutive Grand Slam tournament matches.

Federer ended Djokovic's 41-match winning start to the 2011 season at the 2011 French Open semi-finals.

Djokovic won in five sets with the final set going to a tiebreak, in what became the longest final in Wimbledon history.

Notably, Djokovic won despite Federer statistically outplaying him in all categories except unforced errors and tiebreaks won.

Wawrinka and Djokovic have played three consecutive Australian Opens – each match going to five sets – and a five-setter in the US Open.

Wawrinka's win broke Djokovic's run of 14 consecutive semi-finals in Grand Slam play, and ended a 28-match winning streak.

Later that year, Djokovic beat Wawrinka at the Cincinnati Masters and Paris Masters.

Djokovic was suffering from a foot injury in the latter stages of the match and lost in four sets.

Djokovic won their first four meetings, before back-to-back victories for del Potro at the 2011 Davis Cup and their Bronze medal match at the 2012 Summer Olympics in straight sets.

Djokovic won the next four matches before he loses again to del Potro at the 2013 Indian Wells Masters where the Argentinian made his second career Masters final.

Djokovic got the upper hand on the rivalry by winning two of the most important matches between them to date; an epic five-setter at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships semifinals which was the longest Wimbledon semifinal at the time, and a thrilling three-setter at the 2013 Shanghai Masters final.

In 2018, Djokovic defeated del Potro in three close sets in the final of the US Open, which was the first Grand Slam final for del Potro since his 2009 US Open victory.

Djokovic is credited with beating more higher-ranked players on the way to his Grand Slam tournament trophies than anyone among the big three.

Pat Cash emphasized that Djokovic is one of two players who beat Rafael Nadal at the French Open, which he considers to be "the biggest challenge in tennis".

Richard Krajicek and The Roar, sports opinion website, said that Djokovic should be considered for the greatest player of all time because he is the only one among his greatest rivals who has won four Grand Slams in a row.

Djokovic is widely considered to be one of the greatest returners in the history of the sport, an accolade given to him even by Andre Agassi, who was considered to be the best returner ever.

Pete Sampras, who at the time of his retirement in 2003 was considered by some to be the greatest male tennis player of all-time, stated unequivocally after Djokovic picked up his record-breaking seventh year-end No 1 in 2021:.

Djokovic did it at a time where he dominated two of the greats, in Roger and Rafa, and he handled the next generation of players very well – all at the same time.

Djokovic's backhand is widely regarded as one of the best in today's game, due to its effectiveness on both sides of the court.

Djokovic's best shot is his backhand down the line, with great pace and precision.

Djokovic excels at returning serve in particular, and regularly ranks among the tour leaders in return points, return games, and break points won.

Djokovic has led the ATP Tour in their career "Under Pressure Rating" statistic, in part because of his prowess at winning deciding sets.

Djokovic has been described as one of the fittest and most complete athletes in sports history, with high agility, court coverage and mobility, which allows him to hit winners from seemingly indefensible positions.

Djokovic's return of serve is a powerful weapon for him, with which he can be both offensive and defensive.

Djokovic is highly efficient off both the forehand and backhand return, often getting the return in play deep with pace, neutralizing the advantage the server usually has in a point.

Occasionally, Djokovic employs a well-disguised backhand underspin drop shot and sliced backhand.

Djokovic's smash is considered to be one of his biggest weaknesses, being prone to making mistakes on the shot in big moments such as the 2008 Olympics.

Djokovic commented on the modern style of play, including his own, in an interview with Jim Courier after his semi-final win against Andy Murray in the 2012 Australian Open tournament:.

Djokovic uses a hybrid of Head Natural Gut in the mains and Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power Rough in the crosses.

In 2012, Djokovic appeared in a television commercial with Maria Sharapova promoting the use of Head rackets for many techniques such as golf and ten-pin bowling.

From June 2006 until May 2017, Djokovic was coached by Slovakian former professional tennis player Marian Vajda.

On occasion Djokovic employed additional coaches on part-time basis: in 2007, during the spring hardcourt season, he worked with Australian doubles ace Mark Woodforde with specific emphasis on volleys and net play while from August 2009 until April 2010 American Todd Martin joined the coaching team, a period marked by his ill-fated attempt to change Djokovic's serve motion.

From early 2007 until 2017, Djokovic worked with physiotherapist Miljan Amanovic, who was previously employed by Red Star Belgrade, and NBA player Vladimir Radmanovic.

Djokovic decided to make a change after identifying his conditioning as a weakness in his game following continual losses to Nadal.

In July 2010, before the Davis Cup clash away at Croatia, Djokovic made another addition to his team – Igor Cetojevic, a Serbian nutritionist and proponent of traditional medicine living in Cyprus, who influenced Djokovic's diet.

For Becker, in addition to working alongside Vajda, the job entailed special emphasis on Grand Slam tournaments as Djokovic felt he missed out on winning a couple of majors over the previous two seasons due to a lack of mental edge in the final stages of those tournaments.

On 5 May 2017, Djokovic confirmed that he had come to a mutual agreement to terminate his coaching relationship with Vajda, as well as Phil-Gritsch and Amanovic.

Djokovic reunited with Marian Vajda in April 2018 for the Monte Carlo Masters.

On 30 June 2019, Djokovic confirmed that he added former world No 2 and Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic to his coaching team.

In early March 2022 both Djokovic and Vajda announced that Vajda would no longer coach Djokovic and that it was an amicable and mutual decision.

Djokovic was selected as the 2012 Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year, for his contributions through the foundation, his role as a UNICEF national ambassador and other charitable projects.

Djokovic made a donation to Bergamo, Italy‚ one of the worst-affected Italian provinces, as well as to Novi Pazar, Serbia and North Mitrovica, Serbia.

Djokovic endorses Serbian telecommunications company Telekom Srbija and German nutritional supplement brand FitLine.

From 2011, Djokovic began to wear custom Red and Blue Adidas Barricade 6.

Less than a month later, Djokovic signed a sponsorship deal with German car company Mercedes-Benz.

In March 2012, Djokovic was announced by Bombardier Aerospace as its latest Learjet brand ambassador, thus joining the likes of actor and pilot John Travolta, architect Frank Gehry, maestro Valery Gergiev, and classical pianist Lang Lang.

From January 2014 Djokovic has been endorsing French car manufacturer Peugeot.

In early 2015, ahead of the Australian Open, Djokovic teamed up with Australian banking corporation ANZ for a social media campaign to raise money for local communities across the Asia Pacific region.

Since 2004, the business end of Djokovic's career has been handled by Israeli managers Amit Naor and Allon Khakshouri, a duo which had Marat Safin and Dinara Safina as its clients.

On 22 May 2017, Djokovic was unveiled as a brand ambassador of Lacoste after a five-year partnership with Uniqlo.

Djokovic did not wear the RBI logo, but he did wear on his shirt the logo of UKG, an American workforce management and human resource management company.

In 2005, as Djokovic moved up the tennis rankings, he began venturing into the business world.

In May 2015, right after winning his fourth Rome Masters title, Djokovic launched a line of nutritional food products, called Djokolife.

On 10 April 2016, while in town for the Monte-Carlo Masters, Djokovic opened a vegan restaurant called Eqvita in Monte Carlo.

The material — consisting of Djokovic imitating the said players by exaggerating their trademark physical gestures or nervous tics for the entertainment of his coaching team Marian Vajda and Mark Woodforde — aired during BBC's coverage of the tournament and subsequently became popular online.

Two months later at the US Open, a phone video shot by Argentine players of Djokovic doing locker room impressions of Andy Roddick, Roger Federer, Filippo Volandri, Nadal, etc.

Djokovic threw a big tennis ball into the crowd, announcing the start of the voting and together with one of the show's co-presenters, Zeljko Joksimovic, Djokovic sang Ðorde Marjanovic's song "Beograde".

Djokovic is featured in the music video for the song "Hello" by Martin Solveig and Dragonette.

On 25 June 2011, at the Serbian National Defense Council's seventieth congress in Chicago, Djokovic was unanimously awarded the Order of Serbian National Defense in America I class – the highest decoration of the SND.

On 28 November 2011, after returning from London where he finished early due to failing to progress out of his round-robin group, Djokovic visited his childhood tennis coach Jelena Gencic at her Belgrade home, bringing the Wimbledon trophy along.

The next day, 29 November 2011, on invitation from film producer Avi Lerner, Djokovic was part of the high-budget Hollywood movie production The Expendables 2 in a cameo playing himself that was shot in a warehouse in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia.

Djokovic was named amongst the 100 most influential people of 2012 by TIME magazine.

Djokovic has been a guest on late-night talk shows, such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Vece sa Ivanom Ivanovicem, Conan, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Late Show with David Letterman, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Jonathan Ross Show and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Djokovic allegedly discovered that Djokovic suffers from gluten intolerance, using applied kinesiology, and that he should not eat gluten, removing it from his diet.

Djokovic eventually settled on a vegan diet, while later sometimes eating fish.

Djokovic further stated that his belief that human "bodies are self-healing mechanisms".

Djokovic later clarified his remarks by stating that he is not against all kinds of vaccines, but that he is against forced vaccination.

Djokovic added that he was extremely careful about what he puts into his body.

Djokovic's views came under increased scrutiny in late 2021, in the run-up to the 2022 Australian Open, after comments made by Australian government officials indicated that tennis players would need to be vaccinated to enter the tournament.

However, while being interviewed by the Australian Border Force in January 2022, Djokovic confirmed to the officer interviewing him that he was unvaccinated.

Djokovic was unable to play the 2022 Australian Open, where he was the defending champion and the main favourite to win.

Djokovic re-affirmed sticking to his principles and refusal to receive a vaccine, saying that he would be willing to forego entry into tournaments which are held in countries mandating the vaccine even if it cost him his career records and placement among the all-time great players.

Djokovic has said that he admired and held in high regard Bishop Amfilohije, who played a key part in helping him through a tough time during the Yugoslav Wars.

Djokovic has been reported to meditate for up to an hour a day at the Buddhist Buddhapadipa Temple in Wimbledon as he appreciates the natural setting and serenity, and is close to monks in the complex.

Djokovic is a fan of Serbian football club Red Star, Italian club Milan, and Portuguese club Benfica, as well as Serbian basketball club Red Star.

Djokovic is good friends with former Serbian tennis player Ana Ivanovic, whom he has known since the two were children growing up in Serbia.

Djokovic is a member of the "Champions for Peace" club, a group of famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport.