WATCH: Novak Djokovic reveals the 10 essentials he can’t live without
Novak Djokovic’s interview with GQ magazine caused quite a stir, as it included his claims that he may have been ‘poisoned’ while in an immigration detention centre prior to his deportation in 2022.
After Djokovic opted against taking a Covid vaccine in 2021, he was initially given a special exemption to enter Australia before he was then removed from the country ahead of the Australian Open.
“I had a paper with like a hundred items: from toothbrush, toothpaste, water, food, whatever,” said Djokovic. “And I had to choose, tick the certain boxes, and each of these items carries a certain amount of points, and I had 60 points in total of what I was allowed to receive.
“So I did that 59 or 60 points, and I gave it to them. Twenty minutes later I come back and they say, we made a mistake: you don’t have 60, you have 30. So I was like, You must be kidding me.
“A lot of the athletes who were doing a quarantine for like 40 days before were also locked in the room. But the difference is that obviously they were not in kind of a jail room, and I was.
“And then when I won the case, I was free. I mean free if you call this a freedom. Honestly, I was in a rented house and I was followed by police everywhere I went, and I had the helicopter hovering around the centre court where I was training.
“I was not allowed to access the locker room, main locker room. So they had to find an alternative locker room for me to change and take a shower and get me out of the site. So I was kind of like a fugitive there.”
That was a more serious extract from his GQ interview, but Djokovic also took part in a fun video revealing the ten essential items that have taken him to the top.
Here is the list he revealed in a GQ YouTube video:
HEAD TENNIS RACKET
Djokovic said: Pretty familiar with this. Just has evolved, like different models and stuff. Head is my racket sponsor and has been my record sponsor for many years. I’ve played since I was very, very young with Head racket, different models.
FAMILY PHOTO
Djokovic said: So we have one of our family photos. I think last year, a group hug and a group kiss. Can’t express the love that I feel towards my wife and my children and they’re the most important people in my life. Winning Wimbledon, I had that goal when I was seven, and then obviously when I achieved that. Then I start to set new goals, dream new dreams. So I’ve been so blessed along with my wife, to experience both of them seeing me live, you know, winning pretty much any big trophy in the sport, but particularly the Olympics gold medal, which was, yeah, something extremely special and unique.
OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL
Djokovic said: The gold medal directly from Paris, 2024 Olympic Games, it’s beautiful, isn’t it? All the details, pieces of Eiffel Tower in there.
Really, really cool. This is the real thing. And I mean, it’s heavy. It’s heavy. I’ve managed to win the gold medal and at age 37 without dropping a set the entire tournament, played some of the best tennis I’ve played in my career.
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HUBLOT WATCH
Djokovic said: So here’s the limited edition, Big Bang Unico Novak Djokovic watch. A dear watch to me because we’ve been working on it with the Hublot team for a couple of years. Created from the recycled materials of the Head tennis rackets that I’ve used. Over 20 of those recycled Lacoste match t-shirts, I think close to 20, maybe 17 of those have been different colours.
LACOSTE CLOTHING BRAND
Djokovic said: I partnered with Lacoste, have a collaboration with them since 2017. From my point of view, René Lacoste is one of the legends of our game. Not just tennis related legend, but also an inventor, someone that has just left an incredible mark in the tennis world and fashion world. And some of the biggest legends of our game have worn a crocodile on their chest while winning Grand Slams and making history of tennis with Lacoste. And what they stand for and what I stand for in my life, it’s a beautiful, beautiful relationship we have.
RELIGIOUS BOOK
Djokovic said: I brought a couple of books that I have with me now. This is one of the most important one that I carry with me for many, many years. I always have it on. It’s an Orthodox Christian prayer book when I wake up or before I go to sleep or during the day, before a meal and so forth. Some I know by heart, some I have to read. I’m a man of faith and I believe in the divine power and divine intervention. The second one, is translated to Serbian from Dr. Gordon Nojfeld and Dr. Gabor Mate, two very dear people to our foundation, Novak Djokovic Foundation.
ASICS TRAINERS
Djokovic said: I have to have my shoes. These are ASICS COURT FF 3 Novak Djokovic edition shoes. These are I think the third model from the first COURT FF. It took us three years, I think to develop the COURT FF shoes. The last couple of years we’ve been changing just the models, 1, 2, 3 with certain additions because the technical team of ASICS has been terrific.
BRACELETS
Djokovic said: I have different bracelets that I wear. These are Orthodox Christian religion like prayer beads with the Virgin Mary here at the center. Some of the bracelets that are made for my children have Serbian flag colours imprinted. My children and particularly my son loves bracelets so he has different boxes at home. Last summer he was doing business on the beach, so he was like making and selling. This is also a prayer bead that I have from Aman Hotel. I’m their global ambassador.
HEALING DISC
Djokovic said: Kind of hard to explain this one. Its energetic disc creates an electromagnetic field around it and its a kind of secret is in this pattern. And so when you place it on a certain part of your body, place this part, for example, if you have stomach issues, which I do have often when I’m nervous, stressed before the match or indigestion issues, that’s create heat. So then it starts enhancing the metabolic functions or it reduces inflammation in a certain part of the body.
SILA
Djokovic said: Supplement brand that I started with my business partner and longtime friend, Mark Stillitano. Nutrition has been an integral part of my career, of my life, has been a passion of mine. For example, this product here is magnesium. We are very proud of it because it’s one of the best and most complete formulas for magnesium. It has five different magnesiums in there and it’s amazing, particularly before bedtime to help you with your sleep management, with a deeper sleep, which is something that I think we are all looking for.
NECKLACES
Djokovic said: I have two necklaces that I wear with me all the time. One is the cross has a connection to Orthodox Christianity, very important to me and I play with it, but it’s very, very dear to me. Then (another) once you open it, the pictures of my family you have, me and my wife, my son, my daughter, and our doggies. Extremely important necklace to me. I open this necklace up every day and I kiss every member of my family and kind of I know that they’re always with me even if we are not physically together.
