The odds that a player from Serbia, a Balkan country bombarded by NATO in 1999 while Djokovic was a boy, economically crippled, with few tennis courts and little tennis pedigree, would become the world's No. 1 were close to zero.
However, Djokovic did it, creating a huge following in Serbia as well as neighboring Balkan states despite being heavily criticized abroad for his frequent on court theatrics and outbursts, as well as his approach to the COVID-19 pandemic and refusing to disclose whether he has been vaccinated or not.
He has had a fraught relationship with some spectators around the world, perhaps because he is seen by supporters of Federer and Nadal as an interloper, the third member of the sport's so-called Big Three. He is the youngest of the trio — Federer is 40; Nadal 35 — and came along after the "Fedal" rivalry had captured so much attention.
At the beginning of the 2011 season, Federer owned 16 major titles, Nadal nine and Djokovic one. Over the next decade, Djokovic kept gaining on them, helped in part by compiling a winning record against each.
And while he does tend to hear plenty of support from crowds otherwise, Djokovic always has
seemed to receive less support when his opponent was Federer or Nadal. In terms of endorsements, Djokovic earned less than half of what Federer did from May 2020 to May 2021, according to Forbes.
On and off the court, Djokovic says and does what he wants, whether it is his anti-vaccine stance, his attempt to start a players' association outside of the official channels supported by Nadal and Federer or occasional flashes of temper while playing. That included
throwing and smashing his racket during the Tokyo Olympics and other matches or, most infamously, when
he was disqualified from the 2020 U.S. Open after accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball after dropping a game.
In the midst of the pandemic in 2020, and with professional tennis shut down, Djokovic organized the Adria Tour, a series of exhibition events without social distancing in his native Serbia and neighboring Croatia.
The tournament was abandoned after several participants tested positive for coronavirus. Djokovic and his wife Jelena went on to reveal positive tests.
Djokovic's father, Srdjan Djokovic, said Thursday that his son is the symbol of a "free world" and an attack on him amounted to an attack on Serbia.
He accused Australia and the West in general of "mistreating" Djokovic because he is a Serb and evoked the 1999 bombing by NATO of Serbia over its breakaway province of Kosovo.
