After his victory on the London turf, the 35-year-old Serbian collects his 21st Grand Slam title, and is one step closer to Rafael Nadal, now surpassing his other great rival, Roger Federer, by one title.

All his career, Djokovic will however have suffered from being sometimes relegated to the shadow of these two giants, more popular, and who often will have come to disturb his absolute quest: that of being crowned as the "GOAT" of tennis.

Passionate about victories but also a workaholic, the native of Belgrade has never spared his efforts to win titles but also to be loved by the public and his peers.

Without ever fully achieving it.

Yet he has everything to be an idol: affable, respectful, funny, patriotic but open to the world, cultured, polyglot... But trying too hard, his attitudes have sometimes been misunderstood.

"I have emotions"

A minority even sometimes went so far as to boo him.

Too mechanical?

Too predictable?

A bit of an actor?

A little arrogant?

Maybe just too strong.

"The fact is that 90% of the time, if not more, I play against my opponent and also against the stadium. I'm used to it, but I'm human, I have emotions", he said a year ago. year.

Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final against Nick Kyrgios, July 10, 2022 Adrian DENNIS AFP

So the strong support received in the final of the US Open 2021 where, after winning at the Australian Open, Roland-Garros and Wimbledon, he was aiming for the ultimate feat in tennis, namely the Grand Slam , seemed to mark this long-awaited turning point in the hearts of the public.

To the point that the cold fighter cried in the middle of the match.

He then lost to Daniil Medvedev, in one of the rare moments when he let himself be crushed by the pressure.

But this moment of grace with the public was very short-lived.

A few weeks later, the controversies caught up with him with the question of compulsory vaccination to enter Australia.

Full of his desire to win the first Grand Slam of the year (which would have allowed him to overtake Nadal and Federer), he will have tried everything to play until he fell from his pedestal: having become a "health risk", he was expelled from Australia after several days in a detention centre.

Deprived of the American Masters 1000 (Indian Wells and Miami), he consoled himself with a title in Rome, before being eliminated in the quarterfinals at Roland-Garros by Nadal, who won the title.

Until this ray of English sunshine: with this seventh title on the London turf, Djokovic equals the record of his idol, Pete Samapras.

"It was this tournament that made me want to play, when I saw Pete Sampras win. It was then that I asked my parents to buy me a racket", recalled Sunday the N. 3 worldwide.

Novak Djokovic after his seventh title at Wimbledon, July 10, 2022 Daniel LEAL AFP

Born in Belgrade on May 22, 1987, the Serb is once again getting closer to the stars.

But if, with 21 Grand Slam titles, 87 tournaments won including 38 Masters 1000, he holds the record for winnings on the circuit with more than 156 million dollars, Djokovic is not a spoiled child.

under the bombs

At the age of 12, to escape the bombardments during the war in the Balkans, he spent two and a half months his nights in air-raid shelters and his days... on a tennis court, because the school was closed.

Then, his family made great financial efforts to send him to a tennis school in Germany, before he turned professional in 2003.

The recipe for his sporting success is a mixture of obvious ingredients such as talent and hard work, more sought-after components (gluten-free diet, yoga for flexibility and mental relaxation) and more esoteric elements: an oxygen chamber for recovery, a guru for the mind, visits to a mysterious "pyramid" in Bosnia for "energy"...

Novak Djokovic against Nick Kyrgios in the Wimbledon final, July 10, 2022 Adrian DENNIS AFP

He also worked a lot on his popularity, but with much less success.

Like his signs of gratitude sent to each of the four stands after each of his victories, or his statements on the court which he makes in the language of the local public.

Disqualification

Among his peers too, he tries to make himself loved, with the creation of the players' union PTPA (Professional Tennis Players Association) with which he intends to defend the interests of players in relation to tournaments and the ATP.

Not much success either.

Because its efforts have often been scuttled by a few unfortunate initiatives.

Latest: his position against the anti-Covid vaccine, but also the organization of a tour in the former Yugoslavia in the midst of a pandemic which turned to the “cluster”.

But there was also the disqualification in the round of 16 of the US Open 2020 after unintentionally hitting a linesman with a ball in an angry gesture.

Or racket throws, like at the 2016 Masters.

But greeted and encouraged by the London public on Sunday and even apparently reconciled with his ex-best enemy Kyrgios, Djokovic's halo shines again.

Until when ?

© 2022 AFP