Novak Djokovic ‘made it on his own’ and ‘proved anything is possible’, says ATP rival’s mother
Stefanos Tsitsipas’ mother, Julia Apostoli, feels Novak Djokovic deserves a lot more credit for his rise to the top as “he had a very difficult childhood” compared to Roger Federer who “grew up in a happy country”.
Djokovic grew up in war-torn Belgrade and he often admits that he is still traumatised by the horrors from his childhood, stating in a recent interview: “It’s the fear of the unknown. Not knowing if the next bomb is going to hit your head.
“And so it was every day, the alarms, the sirens that woke us up every night when the planes were approaching.
“I remember my mother one night… because you’re sleeping and in the middle of the night you wake up because you hear the siren and you have to grab a bag and go down to the basement of the building to try to take shelter.”
The Serbian, though, went on to become one of the all-time greatest tennis players as he has won 24 Grand Slams – the most in Open Era history – and also set numerous other records on the way.
Djokovic was also the man to break Federer and Rafael Nadal’s dominance as the Big Two became the Big Three.
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Russian-born Greek Apostoli, who played professional tennis and won three ITF titles, highlighted why she is so impressed by Djokovic.
“Djokovic made it on his own. No public relations,” Apostoli, whose son Stefanos reached a career-high No 3 in the ATP Rankings and has won 11 career titles, said on the Mr Tennis YouTube Channel. “In other words, he got into tennis when Federer and Nadal were at the highest level. They were already the fathers of tennis.
“And Djokovic wasn’t a name, but over time, as time has shown, he proved that anything is possible. Those who condemn him will need time to reassess that.
“I’ve had a life on several levels. I lived in Belgrade for a while, so I speak Serbo-Croatian. By the way, Djokovic, although they write about him that he’s Serbian, in fact he’s Bosnian by birth. But he chose one of those nationalities who lived in Yugoslavia.
“He had a very difficult childhood. That can be explained. He had to hide in an air-raid shelter as a child. Federer grew up in a happy country: Switzerland. That’s also worth bearing in mind. He hasn’t experienced those moments when you have to risk something to achieve something else.”
