Dijana Djokovic reviewed in an interview with the Serbian media Blic the hard beginnings in the career of his son Novak until he became one of the tennis legends. The tennis player's mother tells in an interview how her son has excelled in tennis since childhood. “Novak has not been like other children since he was little. He was always different, he was more mature. He liked to play but his attention was different. Not even in my best dreams did I imagine that he was a world champion. When he started playing tennis, he also played other sports. None of us had been a tennis player. At the age of six or seven, before starting school, we signed him up for a camp in Kopaonik with Jelena Gencic at the Partizan Tennis Club. After admitting him he said: 'I haven't seen a more talented child here since Monica Seles.' “
Djokovic's mother revealed the financial difficulties her family went through and how they managed to get ahead and allow 'Nole' to build his career as a tennis player on loans, sometimes with a very inflated interest. “When you get up in the morning and you have nothing to buy bread or the most basic things for the children, it hurts. You are desperate because you don't know how to solve some things. My husband borrowed money from some and had to repay it asking others. He didn't allow anyone to charge Djokovic and knocked on many doors to find a sponsor to help Novak go to the Australian Open, Roland Garros because it was a large sum of money. In the end we received help from people in Israel. It was not easy. We go through a lot of nerves during this period, but that's the way life is. My husband talked to many Serbian businessmen to invest in Novak, not to give him money, but to make him a contract, but they did not want and there was no meeting. Today they would probably be making millions, it is a fact. “
In fact, Dijana Djokovic recounts the difficulties her husband went through to ensure that Djokovic could go to the big events of the calendar in lower categories. “It was very difficult and when it is urgent, the interest rate increases. The interest we pay monthly is not paid abroad on an annual basis. They were abnormal things but we got along well. We had a job in Kopaonik that I did several months a year in order to feed my children and pay off debts. It had to be this way and when you know that something is going to happen and you have a goal, you go for it. I remember when Novak went to Roland Garros junior, several people stopped sponsoring him at the last moment and Srdjan got worried. And when one of the men saw that we were in trouble said: 'It would be a ten of course of interest, but for you it will be 15 because I see that you are in a hurry'. And finally we accepted it because there was no time to listen to the second option because he had to travel the next day. Srdjan went to the tournament with Djokovic and I stayed at home with two children and no money for bread. We were very brave. If I had been born in another country it would have been different. Here we had no support or help. That concern had an impact on my health. “
The Serbian tennis player's mother also regretted that her son is away from home for so long and confessed that he misses him. “What I want is something that stays inside. I would like to sit down, talk to him, talk, laugh, cry … I want to be with him even for half an hour. Many people surround him. I would like to take him by the hand and we can both go somewhere. “
Djokovic also says that his son has suffered several health problems during his time on the circuit. “Novak has had several health problems. He had a deviation in his nose that made him breathe hard and after surgery he felt better. In 2010 he was discovered to be gluten intolerant and that also made it difficult for him and he could not cope with the heat in Australia. Sometimes we thought the best thing was for him to stop but he said 'let me try'. At 2007 Wimbledon he played five days in a row with his sore foot before falling to Nadal in the semifinals. We put bandages on him at night and in the morning I saw him in slippers. I advised him not to go out and play but he wanted to, so he received a pain injection. He broke Nadal in the first set 6-2 and he didn't know 'where his butt is and where his head is' to seek medical help at the inter-game break to bandage his wounds. Novak had to abandon the fight despite going to tie a set. “
One of the hardest moments he went through was at Wimbledon in 2009, after Djokovic was in favor of supporting the Serbian cause for Kosovo's independence. “I was scared in London in 2009, when Scotland Yard kept us at home, because Albanian groups threatened Novak because he supported the 'Kosovo is Serbia' action. I was scared because you are home with Scotland Yard around you. Then when people asked why he lost to Marat Safin it was because he had this pressure. But there was no talk of that. “
If there is a moment that has also marked Dijana Djokovic, it was the defeat of her son in the first round of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. “Rio's tears are the hardest he has ever experienced. That desire to win gold and have all the conditions, but something went wrong. He had the elbow problem and could not bear the pressure. EHe is a very happy boy and his tears are not usually hard. He was surprised that he had disappointed people and had not done well. Sometimes I get mad at home or on the track. “
Djokovic also had a very bad time in last year's Wimbledon final, where his son beat Roger Federer in a dying final, for which Dijana Djokovic does not show much sympathy. “Wimbledon was the hardest game for me this year. On the track where everyone applauds Federer, a handful applauded Djokovic. It is not convenient to say if Federer or other people bother me, but I think so, because he is a bit arrogant” .
She also confessed the religious fervor that she and her son have and believes that God helped Novak win that final. “At the time when Federer had two match balls, I took my cross from the Don River, the amulet that saves me in difficult times, and I said to myself: 'Nole, you can do it, you already did it twice, you can do it a third time', and he did it. God saved him. I always carry the cross and am a believer. Novak is too, he believes in God and I believe that he is his chosen one. He wears a Hilandar cross and that gives him peace of mind and happiness. Pray in the morning, in the afternoon, or when you need it. He was once with his father and brothers for three days at Hilandar and that has helped him a lot. “