“Bombs were flying overhead, we kept playing tennis” Novak Djokovic recounts his war-torn childhood and how it shaped his character
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Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is one of the greatest players in the history of tennis, but he didn’t have a regular childhood like most of his contemporaries. Djokovic was born in 1987 and just after a few years, the Yugoslav war started. The war continued from 1991 to 1999 and most of Novak’s childhood was spent in the war-afflicted Serbia. He recounted his childhood experiences and how those hardships molded him into the person he is today.
Djokovic talked about the distress the war brought on the country and his choice of playing tennis affected his parents. Novak opened up about his early life experiences in an interview with BBC and RTS. He said: “We had two wars, embargoes, we were under sanctions. We stood in line to get milk and bread. I chose to do the most expensive sport (laughs), which is not available to very many. My parents had to endure many difficulties so that I could pursue my dreams.”
Novak Djokovic had to learn to take care of himself at a young age.
Djokovic also talked about the maturity he had to quickly inculcate in himself due to the war. He said: “I couldn’t travel to many tournaments like other tennis players of my generation could. I had to grow up very quickly, because I often went to competitions without a father and without a family. I started relying only on myself from a young age. It helped shape my character from a young age”
“In the late ’90s, when bombs were flying overhead, I was 12 years old. The bombing lasted 2.5 months. Within a week, we started ignoring that rockets were flying over our heads, and we just kept playing tennis all day because we didn’t have classes at school,” said Djokovic about the situations during his childhood.
Novak believes that’s important to go through hardships because it shapes a person’s character. He said: “I don’t look back on the past with anger or resentment. I don’t remember him with such emotions. I’m grateful to have had this experience and can appreciate more of everything I have. That shaped my character in many ways”
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Prateek Sinha
(365 Articles Published)