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NEW YORK (AFP) – Novak Djokovic has secured a place among the Grand Slam greats, but his sometimes unsettling character means he has never acquired the affection of his impeccable rival Roger Federer.
The 33-year-old world number one has come under fire after he was disqualified from the US Open on Sunday for accidentally hitting a linesman with a ball.
It made Djokovic one of the few players to be excluded from the men’s singles tournament of a Grand Slam since John McEnroe was ejected from the Australian Open in 1990.
Djokovic said he was “extremely regretful” but the incident marked another low point in a 2020 roller coaster for the Serb that sparked controversy with his Adria Tour event that resulted in several players, including himself, becoming infected with Covid-19. .
In many ways, the events of the past few months are emblematic of his career, which has garnered 17 Grand Slam titles, just three behind Federer’s all-time record, which is six years older.
Djokovic grew up as NATO bombs fell on Serbia, but despite that difficult start to his life, he has made professional earnings of nearly $ 144 million in prize money alone.
However, he seems doomed never to hold the same holy esteem as Federer or Rafael Nadal, the undisputed “popular champions” of tennis.
There are those who see something a little more calculating in Djokovic’s makeup, an intense and melancholic presence prone to affectation and fashions and a little too “new age” for most tastes.
Nick Kyrgios has derided the Serbian’s “cup of love” gesture after the victory as “disgraceful”.
Never lacking an opinion, the Australian has also accused Djokovic of desperately needing to please.
Kyrgios topped criticism of Djokovic’s ill-fated Adria Tour in June as “cheeky.”
Everything had seemed fair to Djokovic this year before the lockout in March.
He had secured an eighth Australian Open record and was on an 18-0 winning streak; that streak had been extended to 26-0 until Sunday’s default.
But in the space of a few months, his character and reputation have collapsed.
First of all, he was criticized for breaking the blocking rules to train in Spain.
He then invited mockery for insisting that emotions can change the quality of water, while almost simultaneously insisting that he would not be prepared to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
When he described the limits on the entourage of players at the US Open as “extreme” and “impossible,” Djokovic found himself once again in the crosshairs for having a right in a world and a sport trying to come together.
‘He has everything’
However, few can doubt Djokovic’s determination.
Two years ago, his career was stagnant.
Unable to shake off the lingering effects of the elbow surgery, he suffered an early exit at Roland Garros 2018.
With his ranking outside the top 20 for the first time in 12 years, Djokovic threatened to skip Wimbledon.
He changed his mind and with his career suddenly rejuvenated, he swept to a fourth title at the All England Club.
That was quickly followed by more wins at the US and Australian Open.
Only an inspired Dominic Thiem at the French Open in 2019 prevented him from becoming the second man in history to hold all four Slams at the same time twice.
Never mind, just a few weeks later, he captured a fifth Wimbledon in a record five-set final against Federer, saving two championship points in the process.
“Novak has everything to set records in this sport,” said teammate Juan Martín del Potro.
Djokovic captured the first of his 17 majors at the Australian Open in 2008, but it was three years before he added the second.
Eliminating gluten from his diet, his lithe physique allowed him to pursue lost causes, transforming him into the rubber man of tennis.
After leading Serbia to an inaugural Davis Cup in 2010, he raced through the first half of 2011, accumulating a 48-1 winning streak.
Only a semi-final loss at the French Open prevented him from becoming the third man to capture a calendar Grand Slam.
Despite that, he finished 2011 with a 70-6 record in wins and losses, 10 tournament wins and the number one year-end for the first time.
Back-to-back Australian Opens followed in 2012 and 2013, though the French Open remained frustratingly out of reach with three heartbreaking final defeats until their breakthrough in 2016.
In Paris that year, he became the first player to break the $ 100 million prize pool.
The year before, he won 11 titles and compiled a win-loss record of 82-6.
Off the court, Djokovic married his longtime girlfriend and high school sweetheart Jelena Ristic in July 2014.
They have two children, a son Stefan and a daughter Tara.
But on the court, his role as a pantomime villain seems destined to pigeonhole him.
“It doesn’t mean that the fans hate me and it certainly doesn’t mean that I have to put Serbia against the rest of the world just because fewer people support me in the Grand Slam finals,” he said.
When the All England Club crowd was vociferously up for Federer in last year’s Wimbledon final, Djokovic turned adversity in his favor.
“When they chanted ‘Roger, Roger,’ I made up my mind to believe they were singing ‘Novak, Novak,'” he said.
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