Novak Djokovic Opens Up On Personal Journey

Published 02/18/2019, 8:00 PM EST

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The World Number one tennis player, Novak Djokovic returned to the professional courts in 2018 after his six-month hiatus due to his elbow surgery. In the year 2018, he was swept aside by the South Korean, Hyeon Chung in the pre-quarters of the Australian Open and the Italian, Marco Cecchinato defeated Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the Roland Garros.

The 15-time Grand Slam champion from Serbia, Novak Djokovic was declared the 2019 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year in Salle des Etoiles, Monaco. He previously earned that title in the years 2012, 2015 and 2016. This year, 68 members of the Laureus Academy voted for Djokovic and the members incorporated the legends such as nine-time Grand Slam champion Monica Seles and Britain’s six-time Olympic track cycling gold medalist, Chris Hoy. Djokovic considers Seles to be one of his tennis mothers.

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In his speech at the Laureus Awards, Djokovic unveiled the plot of his tennis journey. He was dissuaded when he had surgery and it took him some time to rediscover the motive to play tennis. His mind was agitated and shortly after his loss in Paris in 2018, he decided to put his racquets aside as he did not find the purpose to play his game. With that, the Serbian maestro was contemplating upon calling off his tennis career. However, battling with the miserable phase of life and now coming out from it, he expresses his gratitude towards his wife, Jelena Djokovic to embrace his misfortunes and bolster his spirits during the dark period of his career.

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“I did think about leaving tennis” Djokovic addressed the audience at the Laureus Awards. “I did not find myself in a good balance. It took me several months to find that purpose and meaning again. This award reflects and symbolises this journey”. Djokovic articulated the significance of the 2019 Laureus Award. He dedicates the Laureus title to his three-year long journey in tennis, commencing from his Roland Garros 2016 glory, where he held the all four Slams in a row and till today. He believes that all four Slams consecutively came to him due to his perseverance, his hunger to attain that goal and he dwelled in that arduous journey to reach that destination.

Along with his tenacity to comeback, Djokovic mentioned about the ‘concept of being present in the now’ and how it helped him to resurge. The Serb re-engineered his inner self to elevate from his distress. “Reflecting on it standing here now it seems like a fairytale story but it tells me one thing. In those moments of when you are facing adversity and challenged you should always look inside. I did not understand that fully before but now I know where I can always find strength and belief and to keep on going,” Djokovic concluded.

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Ever since his last eight defeat in Paris, till date, Cecchinato remains the only ATP man to knock down the Serbian in a major. Before that, Novak Djokovic was stunned by the American, Taro Daniel and the Frenchman, Benoit Paire at the American Double Sunshine tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami, where he was under the tutelage of Andre Agassi. Struggling to flourish on the men’s tour, the 31-year-old, Djokovic decided to reconnect with his former coach Marian Vajda. Since their reunification, Novak Djokovic ascended on the apex of the ATP scale and eclipsed the American, Pete Sampras in terms of the Grand Slam tally this year in Melbourne.

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Mahalakshmi Murali

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Mahalakshmi Murali joined EssentiallySports in 2018 as a tennis author and has gone on to pen more than 1800 engaging articles, probing into various aspects of the sport and its illustrious players. With her expertise on the sport, Mahalakshmi has interviewed stalwarts from the sport such as Serena WIlliams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou and Kevin Anderson’s physio, Carlos Costa. Equipped with her vast experience and a keen understanding of the sport, Mahalakshmi now co-heads the tennis department.
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