World No.2 Novak Djokovic has joined the expanding list of players on the ATP Tour over the age of 30. The milestone means that the world’s top-five are dominated by players aged 30 and above. To celebrate his birthday, here are ten facts about Djokovic.
1. Started playing tennis at the age of six
If it wasn’t for an observation made by Jelena Gencic, Djokovic might have never played on the ATP Tour. In 1993 Gencic was running a summer camp in Kopaonik, Serbia where she spotted a young Djokovic gazing at the camp. She approached Djokovic and invited him to join the camp, starting what turned out to be one of the most impressive tennis careers in the modern era of the game.
2. His first ATP win was on clay
At The age of 17 Djokovic clinched his first win on the ATP Tour after knocking out world No.67 Arnaud Clement 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, in the first round at the 2004 Bucharest Open. His run ended in the second round following a three set loss to David Ferrer.
That was the first and so far only time Djokovic has played an ATP event in Romania.
3. Only six men have won more titles than him in the Open Era
Since 2006, Djokovic has won 67 titles on the ATP Tour. The tally includes a record-equalling 30 Masters 1000 titles, 12 grand slam trophies and five year-end championship accolades. So far Djokovic has featured in 97 ATP finals, playing either Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer or Andy Murray in 61 of those.
Most titles (singles only)
Jimmy Connors 109
Ivan Lendl 94
Roger Federer 91
John Mcenroe 77
Rod Laver 74
Rafael Nadal 72
Novak Djokovic 67
4. He speaks five languages
Away from the tennis court, Djokovic is a self-described fan of foreign languages. The son of a Montenegrin father and Croatian mother, he is confident in speaking Serbian, English, German, Italian and French. He also speaks some Spanish.
Djokovic is not the only multilingual player on the men’s tour. Portugal’s Joao Sousa can speak a total of six different languages.
5. Has been ranked in the top-10 for over ten years
Djokovic has become a permanent fixture in the world’s top-10. Since making his top-10 debut on March 19th, 2007, he has never fallen out of the group. He has spent a total of 223 weeks as world No.1, the fifth longest in the Open Era. Federer currently holds the record with 302 week’s.
6. Has a net worth of $56 million
According to Forbes.com, Djokovic was the sixth highest paid athlete in 2016. With endorsements from companies such as Uniqlo, Adidas, Head, ANZ, Peugot and Seiko. The Serbian has a total worth of $56 million in 2016.
$21.8M of that total is from prize money and the rest is from endorsements. Last year he became the first player in history to pass the US$100M mark in prize money in tennis.
7. The only Serbian tennis player in history to win an Olympic medal
At the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Djokovic became the first and so far only Serbian tennis player to medal at an Olympic Games. He was also one of the first athletes to win an individual medal since Serbia’s independence in the early 1990’s. The other was swimmer Milorad Čavić, who won a silver medal in Beijing.
8. The sunshine double king
Djokovic is the first player to win both the Indian Wells and Miami Masters within the same season four times (2011, 2014, 2015 and 2016).
9. He won the longest final in grand slam history
At the 2012 Australian Open, Djokovic required five fours and 53 minutes to defeat Rafael Nadal 5–7, 6–4, 6–2, 6–7(5–7), 7–5. It is the 13th longest match in the history of men’s tennis.
10. Will play his 50th consecutive grand slam main draw
The upcoming French Open will be Djokovic’s 50th consecutive appearance in the main draw of a grand slam. At all four major events, the 30-year-old has won 83% of matches played or more. He has only ever suffered a first round loss twice (Australian Open 2005 and 2006).
Djokovic’s grand slam performance
Australian Open – Six-time champion (won 58 out of 65 matches played)
French Open – 2016 champion (won 55 out of 66 matches played)
Wimbledon – Three-time champion (won 54 out of 63 matches played)
US Open – Two-time champion (won 62 out of 72 matches played)
