Djokovic 23, Haters 0: Why Djokovic is the greatest champion

On my way to work at the 2019 Wimbledon final, I saw a thin man in a white track suit walking alone down a quiet street behind the All England Club. I had to blink. It was Novak Djokovic. I grinned at the incongruity of it, and Djokovic smiled back at me. Here was the greatest (and most vilified) player in history coming to work through the media entrance, not the VIP area. 

The young security guards were also surprised to see him there. “Can we help carry your bags sir?” they asked. 

“That’s OK,” said Djokovic, thanking them.  

“Maybe you can help him carry the trophy after he wins,” I quipped. Djokovic and the security guards laughed. It was a moment of levity on a tense day that would end with Djokovic beating Federer after a ferocious battle of five hours.

It was one of the greatest victories in history; Djokovic saved match points by baiting Federer into rushing the net on a weak approach shot and also inducing Roger into overhitting a forehand from a backhand position. Roger never won another major, and he would tearfully retire a few years later, with Djokovic at his side for support. 

That Wimbledon 2019 final was also memorable because many of my colleagues in the press box, who idolize Federer, were cheering against Djokovic.  

I saw similar scenes while covering tennis events around the world since 2006. 

Even if you ignore statistics and argue that other players are the greatest of all time, it’s clear that Novak Djokovic had to overcome more hate and prejudice than any athlete in recent memory. 

They began hating him because he challenged their heroes Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. 

People from NATO nations, which bombed Belgrade during the spring clay season in 1999, distrusted Djokovic because he’s from Serbia, with a father from Kosovo. 

They disliked him because he won long, grueling matches. They accused him of being a “pusher” instead of a shotmaker; of taking too long between points; of faking injuries for medical time-outs; of drinking mysterious concoctions, as if a magic potion could help someone beat Roger or Rafa.  

A Reuters sportswriter in Asia told me at the Australian Open in 2011 that slams should become best-of-3 sets in order to prevent Djokovic from using his superior fitness and endurance to outlast Federer and Nadal over 5 sets. It’s tennis, not a marathon, he argued.  

Ben Rothenberg, who had no prior training or experience in journalism before gaining notoriety for attacking players and old school journalists, gained thousands of social media followers by promoting this same idea — that tennis should change the rules in order to prevent Djokovic from wearing down opponents. 

His podcast co-host Courtney Nguyen, a trained lawyer and activist with no prior training or experience in journalism, told me in Rome that people hated Djokovic because he tried too hard to be liked by fans. 

Acting like schoolyard bullies online, they sought out any opportunity to scandalize Djokovic. Before the Indian Wells final in 2016, tournament director Raymond Moore had invited reporters to an informal brunch where he joked that he would like to become a WTA player in his next life. “If I was a lady player, I’d go down every night on my knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born, because they have carried this sport,” said Moore, according to CNN.

Nguyen and Rothenberg not only led the lynch mob calling for Moore’s dismissal, they also ambushed Djokovic in the press room after he won the final. They twisted Novak’s comments out of context and demanded he apologize for saying that men and women should stand up for themselves in negotiations with tournaments. In the end, Djokovic met with Billie Jean King and Chris Evert to discuss his comments. This emboldened the activists, who tried to portray Djokovic as a misogynist.

They also accused him of being on a “charm offensive” during the French Open in 2016. On Kid’s Day, while most reporters were resting ahead of the two-week tournament, I saw Djokovic after practice signing autographs for every screaming child in the stadium. During the tournament, he went out of his way to have fun with ball kids and other workers. When he beat Andy Murray in the final, the sun finally came out after two weeks of rain at the “Drench Open”. But instead of celebrating his achievement, his critics noted that he didn’t have to play Federer or Nadal that year. 

During Djokovic’s slump circa 2017, the haters hoped he would retire. Many reporters complained that Novak beat them to the press room immediately after losing to Dominic Thiem at the French Open. They demanded that Novak have elbow surgery, which he had been resisting because he prefers natural remedies. Even after his surgery, which caused Novak to cry for days, they accused him without evidence of somehow doping to recover strength. 

Their hatred for Novak increased the more he continued to win. Djokovic, Federer and Nadal all refused to surrender to age and younger challengers such as Thiem, Alex Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Nick Kyrgios and others. All three of the Big Three were determined to finish with the most grand slam titles. But only Djokovic openly admitted it. The press slammed him for his honesty. 

The antagonism against Djokovic seemed to reach a peak in 2020 when US Open organizers disqualified him after line judge Laura Clark over-reacted to a ball accidentally hit her way.  

But this was nothing compared with the ugly events of early 2022. Rothenberg and others tried to frame Djokovic as a dangerous right-wing “anti-vaxxer” because he chose to trust his immune system instead of a relatively untested new mRNA injection that has reportedly caused heart problems in healthy young people. They accused Djokovic of falsifying papers and spreading covid to children and a journalist from France. Jon Wertheim, echoing the views of his colleagues, went on TSN in Canada to say that Djokovic was crazy for thinking that people could survive Sars-Cov2 without vaccination. (In fact, researchers reported infection survival rates of more than 99 percent for Novak’s generation.)

Australian politicians and officials used this public hysteria for their own gain. Ignoring his achievements in Australia and generosity toward victims of bush fires, federal authorities detained and deported Djokovic, even after a judge in Victoria state determined that Djokovic was innocent. 

Meanwhile, politicians, officials and media members in the United States, railing against “discrimination” and “white supremacy”, continued to ban Djokovic for refusing to comply with vaccination requirements that other nations had lifted. Even as increasing numbers of scientists presented data showing the benefits of natural immunity, Djokovic could not play at the 2022 US Open, which was sponsored by Moderna. 

Throughout these ordeals, Djokovic managed to maintain the higher moral ground. He didn’t rail against Big Pharma and the draconian measures in the US, Australia and other countries. He didn’t try to sneak into the USA through Bahamas or porous southern borders. He didn’t put down younger players such as Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune, who gained from his absence. In fact, Djokovic went out of his way to help them. He also led attempts to organize male and female players into an association to give them a stronger bargaining position. He also funded tournaments to give players prize money during the pandemic. The world’s most famous “anti-vaxxer” donated a lot of money toward medical research and treatments. He also devoted a lot of time and energy toward his wife and children. 

Even after all of this, many haters would still hate Djokovic. But Djokovic has overcome all of that. Like Muhammad Ali, his greatness is defined by his struggle to transcend the toxic politics, discrimination and hatred of his era. You might think that Roger Federer was a more beautiful player, or that Rafa Nadal was the greatest warrior, or that Bjorn Borg should have won more titles, or that Rod Laver won all the slams in 1962 and 1969. But they never had the world against them. Djokovic has broken their records because nothing could break his spirit — not government officials nor the tournament officials, the media, and the jeering fans of New York, Paris and elsewhere. 

That’s why Novak Djokovic is the greatest champion of all time, in any sport.   

words and images copyright Christopher Johnson Globalite Media all rights reserved