If anyone follows Novak Djokovic even remotely, they would certainly know his love for his country, Serbia. Individual glory was not the reason why Djokovic was desperate to add the elusive Olympic Gold to his collection. The fact that he had the opportunity to do it for Serbia was his source of motivation. The zeal to put his country at the top carries more weight for the 24-time Grand Slam champion than anything else. And Serbia’s captain, Viktor Troicki, reiterated it as well, during the ongoing Davis Cup.

Serbia is clashing with Greece to proceed further into the Davis Cup, with a 2-0 lead after Miomir Kecmanović and Djokovic’s respective wins. Though doubles matches are yet to be concluded, Djokovic’s presence at the Davis Cup has provided a much-needed boost to the team. The fans greeted their home favorite with a full house, cheering him. This was not lost to the captain, as he put into words Djokovic’s sentiments that ran raw during his Davis Cup match.

“You can definitely see how much it means to Novak to play in front of the home crowd. He achieved everything in his career, he won everything, and now he responded against a weakened opponent. That speaks volumes for how much it means to him,” Troicki said. Love for his country certainly takes precedence over everything for Djokovic. And the captain expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the former World No.1 who dominated the sport for years.

“I thank him for everything he did for our sport,” Troicki further added. However, contrary to Djokovic’s announcement of the 2024 Davis Cup being his last in the series, the Serbian captain hopes that “he continues like this next season,” hence enabling Serbia to claim the title that has remained elusive from their hold for years.

“I’m sure we can achieve that dream with him. We were close a couple of times, but unfortunately, it didn’t happen. But when the energy is this good, we can beat anyone. But let’s get the job done here first. The energy and the team are great and they can achieve great results.”– remarked Troicki, praising the team and the energy that Novak Djokovic brought to the team.

Troicki would want to be careful about counting his chickens before they hatch, but his words are not far from the truth. Novak Djokovic’s patriotism knows no bounds and if he is there, he will try his level best to fulfill the dreams of the Serbian fans.

Djokovic, when he was trying to make a mark in the initial phase of his career, once rejected the tempting offer to change his nationality from Serbian to British. His love for the red, blue, and white stripes reigned over every temptation presented!

When every offer fell short of Novak Djokovic’s love for Serbia

It’s not uncommon for athletes to migrate to other nations for better opportunities and perks. However, that was never an option for the Serbian ace, even when his nation was rebuilding itself from ashes. He stayed firm as Serbia took its first step towards stability in 2006. Why didn’t Novak Djokovic change his nationality when offers were knocking on his doorstep? His former mentor, Jelena Jankovic, revealed the reason.

She said, “It was important for Novak to show that no one could buy him. Novak was born in Serbia. He’s Serbian. He feels Serbian and he should stay Serbian.” Even Mark Hodgkinson, who wrote Djokovic’s biography, said “Representing your nation gives you so much energy, so much belief, as a tennis player, and Novak wouldn’t have that with Britain.’

One cannot forget, that Novak Djokovic’s childhood dream remains unfulfilled, that is the “dream of winning the Davis Cup for Serbia.” Maybe, this is the year when the Serb maestro tips his hat to the world and raises a toast to, “dreams fulfilled!”