by Pete Bodo
Tennis is a family game. Almost anyone old enough to walk and hold a racket can play, and so can the miracle octogenarian. Everyone knows about those notorious tennis dads and moms, but remember, too, that husband and wife, or parent and child, can play and even play with each other. Also, anyone compete in tournaments, including the sanctioned ones that generate official rankings. If you're a USTA member, or part of any other ITF affiliate, and you earn a ranking, you're name is right there in the book, alongside that of Serena Williams, or Mardy Fish.
Beyond that, knowledgeable fans know that the most familiar and easily navigated path to glory runs through the living room and basement rec room. Many of the best pro players emerge from families immersed in the tennis culture. Who can forget Ivan Lendl's childhood tales of being leashed like a dog to the net post by his tennis nut mother while she played matches? Or overlook the fact that Chris Evert's father was a Fort Lauderdale teaching pro - who, in fact, had dated Gloria Connors (Jimmy's mother) back in their collegiate days? Todd Martin's mother used to set up the playpen alongside the fence at the court where she played with her husband, and the Austin family produced three siblings who each played on the pro tour at one time or another: Pam, Jeff and Tracy.
Even when a promising player's family isn't crazy for tennis, it often gets that way when a youngster's talent becomes manifest. A precocious player requires a support system, and that usually means family involvement and even sacrifice. Tennis is not just something that people do; it's something people live. The game sometimes enters through the side door and gradually overwhelms a family. In what other sport do parents (Richard Williams?) and even siblings (Venus and Serena, Andy and Jamie?) play so large or visible a role?
I got to thinking about all this once again as the Serbian Open got underway the other day. That a single player (Novak Djokovic) backed up by his family could exert such a profound influence on the game is both telling and surprising. It's as if Kobe Bryant and his family decided they wanted their own NBA franchise, and got it. Or Brett Favre and his kin starting an NFL team. It seems a little screwy, to tell you the truth. There's something startlingly . . . unprofessional . . . about the idea. I mean, what does Novak's uncle Goran know about tennis? It had better be something, because the dude is the tournament director of the Serbia Open.
Well, I'm not one of those sanctimonious finger-waggers who expects everyone to be pure as the driven snow, or who enjoys pointing out that this or that person isn't, or may not be. The fact that the Djokovic family has taken the initiative, and assumed at least some risk (I believe that's the case, but don't quote me on it - apparently the government of Serbia is also involved in all this) is admirable. It shows that they're fairly courageous, not averse to working, and have an instinct for giving something back to the game, for growing tennis in a new and fertile corner of the world.
The Djokovices brought pro tennis to a nation that had virtually no tradition or history in the game, but in which (thanks to them) tennis has rocketed in popularity to become the most popular sport. Given the way tennis is structured and run, I'm amazed that the Serbia Open exists at all - this sport isn't exactly known for its carpe diem approach to creating new tournaments in promising markets (BTW, now that we're mired in this global recession, what was that about China being the vast, new, dying-to-be-exploited market?).
Still, Serbia having a tournament is one thing; Novak Djokovic owning it, promoting it, and competing in it is quite another. At some level this is simply surreal. And let's remember that Novak himself is all of 21 years old. Shoot, a few more years at this rate and the stadium at the site (officially, it's the Milan Gale Muskatirovic) is going to be named the Novak Djokovic Coliseum at the Serbia Open. Sitting in the locker room, Roger Federer will turn to Rafael Nadal and ask, "Who are you playing?"
Rafa will answer: "I'm playing Novak in The Novak. Second match after two."
Roger: "Yeah, it's tough playing him in The Novak. . . crowd noise is just too much."
I mean, does anyone else think this is a little weird?
I've been poking around the Serbia Open website, and Djokovic's own "official" site as well. It's kind of cute, and refreshing, to see exuberant, bang-'em-on-the-head headlines like:*Unexpected! Zimonjic and Nestor Defeated!* or Exciting Contest of Serbian Players* (the headline for the Novak vs. Janko Tipsarevic match). In one of the photo galleries I found an image of the press interview room; it was set-up just like it usually is at tour events, with players, an ATP handler, a few film crews, a player seated behind the table - but only one person who appeared to be an actual journalist. I relay this only to emphasize theJust build it, they will come* aspect of this entire endeavor. It's built. I hope that over time everyone does come, because it took courage and vision to make this a reality.
The team that beat Nenad Zimonjic and Daniel Nestor (the no. 2 doubles team in the world) and inspired the second of those headlines I quoted above? It was Darko Madjarovski and Marko Djokovic, Novak's 18-year old brother. Darko and Marko never even hit balls until a week ago, and they survived a tight match with two of the most talented, veteran doubles players on the main tour. The score that was posted at the Serbia Open website was 7:6, 2:6, 10:6 - do with it what you will. And let's have no whispering about this upset - this was a day the world's top doubles team (Bob and Mike Bryan) also went down, in Munich.
Marko showed that he has a touch of that Djokovic hubris when he said, “This is not a surprise, the result is real and I hope that we will win the tournament.” Darko Madjarovski was a little more circumspect, perhaps because at 25, he's seven years older than Marko, Madjarovski waxed philosophical, saying: "It was a great honor to step out to the court with Zimonjic and Nestor. The ball is round, everything is possible. We are moving on."
I hope the weather stays sunny and warm, because apparently there aren't any covers for the courts at the Milan Gale Muskatirovic. You know how it is with a big project like this, it's easy to forget some of the details: Rain? Who woulda thunk it?!!!. Once upon a time, the site (can we agree to just call it the Milan Gale?) was some sort of tennis facility. The Djokovic family bought it, figured out a way to rehabilitate it, and bought out the sanction of the tournament usually held in Amersfoort. That made room on the calendar for the Serbia Open. Tennis benefited from the swap: it may have lost a minor regional tournament, but it gained a national championship. Let's face it: any tournament that begins with the name of a nation and ends in "Open" has a certain amount of heft.
I don't know if you saw Neil Harman'sNet Post column the other day, but he wrote that three years ago, when Djokovic was temporarily stateless because of the split between Serbia and Montenegro, the LTA made an aggressive effort to move the Djokovics to England. Among other things, they allegedly dangled a membership in the All-England Club, as well a a retirement home in Eastbourne, overlooking Devonshire Park (the site of the annual WTA tournament). It speaks to the depth and passion of the Djokovic family's patriotic feelings that they turned down the offer.
Now, they have a tournament of their own, and a captive domestic audience. As Novak has said, "This is very important, especially for my family, for myself and for all the players from Serbia, to have a tournament for the first time in the history of our country. Everybody is really excited." Harman reported that Lleyton Hewitt and Juan Carlos Ferrero, two former no. 1s, had asked for wild cards but were turned down because Goran Djokovic had awarded two of the three on offer to a pair of little known Serbs (Filip Krajinovic and Arsenije Zlatanovic), and gave the other one to Marcos Baghdatis.
It just so happens that Novak was drawn to play fellow Serbs Janko Tipsarevic and Viktor Troicki, in back-to-back matches. He's already taken care of Janko - Viktor is next. So, with Marko and Novak still alive and kicking, things are looking pretty good for the Djokovic family, whose business apparently is officially known as Family Sport. It's all about family for the Djokovices. And the Serbia Open is all about the Djokovic family and their fellow Serbs, which includes Daniel Nestor - sort of. Let's remember that he was born in Belgrade.
Darko. Remember that name if you find yourself rebelling against peer group pressure to name your kid Cody, Tucker, or Kwame.