DJOKOVIC Novak

General
GOING FOR THE CALENDAR GOLDEN SLAM
He arrives at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo as the reigning champion at the first three Grand Slam tournaments of 2021, the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon. Should he claim the singles title at the 2020 Games and the US Open later in the year, he will achieve the 'Calendar Golden Slam', winning the singles title at all four Grand Slam tournaments and the Olympic Games in the same year. The feat has only been achieved once before, in 1988, by female German player Steffi Graf. "It came down to patriotism and my feelings for Serbia [competing at the 2020 Olympic Games]. But I am full of confidence and motivated to represent Serbia in the best possible way. The Olympics, and the US Open, are obviously my biggest objectives for the remainder of the season, and it's going to be demanding. I am inspired to play my best tennis and confident that I can win the gold medal. And then I'll go to New York [US Open], aiming to complete it all." (olympics.com, 21 Jul 2021; tennis.com, 20 Jul 2021; guinnessworldrecords.com, 2021; nbcolympics.com, 15 Jul 2021)

US OPEN DISQUALIFICATION
He was defaulted from his fourth round match at the 2020 US Open after hitting a ball that struck a line judge in the throat. "This whole situation has left me really sad and empty. I checked on the linesperson and the tournament told me that thank God she is feeling OK. I'm extremely sorry to have caused her such stress. So unintended. So wrong. I'm not disclosing her name to respect her privacy. As for the disqualification, I need to go back within and work on my disappointment and turn this all into a lesson for my growth and evolution as a player and human being. I apologise to the US Open tournament and everyone associated for my behaviour." (bbc.co.uk, 07 Sep 2020)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
He has served as president of the Association of Tennis Professionals [ATP] Player Council. In 2020 he and Canadian player Vasik Pospisil led the formation of the Professional Tennis Players' Association. (bbc.co.uk, 07 Sep 2020, 15 Nov 2018)

EARLY DAYS
He was age 11 when NATO began its 1999 bombing campaign in Belgrade, Serbia. For 78 consecutive days, he and his family had go to a bomb shelter each night. He continued to play tennis for the duration of the offensive. "We'd go to the site of the most recent attacks, figuring that if they bombed one place yesterday, they probably wouldn't bomb it today." When he was age 13, his family decided that he should move to Germany in order to train. He attended the Niki Pilic Tennis Academy in Munich. "From the first day Novak arrived at the camp, it was amazing how focused on tennis he was. I never liked predicting if someone would succeed or not, but with Novak I knew he would be the best," Pilic said. (novakdjokovic.com, 30 Apr 2015; newyorker.com, 02 Sep 2013)

BUSINESS OWNER
He owns two restaurants called Novak Cafe & Restaurant in Belgrade, Serbia. (tennis-x.com, 09 Jan 2015; novakcafe.rs, 2016)

FOUNDATION
In November 2007 he launched the Novak Djokovic Foundation, the aim of which is to support young talent, children with health problems and those from disadvantaged communities. The Foundation is also engaged in helping towns which have suffered natural disasters, and in protecting national heritage buildings. (novakdjokovicfoundation.org, 01 Mar 2016)

BOOK
He published the book 'Serve to Win' in 2013 about his early years and path to success including information about his diet and fitness regime. (telegraph.co.uk, 24 Aug 2013)

At Wimbledon in 2021 he claimed his 20th Grand Slam singles title, equalling the record of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for most Grand Slam singles titles by a male player. (atptour.com, 11 Jul 2021; novakdjokovic.com, 11 Jul 2021; SportsDeskOnline, 22 Jul 2021)