10 fascinating things you didn’t know about Novak Djokovic

With Roger Federer and Rafel Nadal now out of the spotlight, Novak Djokovic is the living legend still remaining in tennis. He’s a polarizing figure to say the least, but his greatness has forced people to take notice of his historic accomplishments. We’ll serve up 10 facts about Djokovic that you probably weren’t aware of.

What does Djokovic like to do when he’s not on the tennis court? One answer is to watch 'Avatar' (the first one), which he told BBC Sport was his favourite movie.

Djokovic isn’t just into animated action flicks. He also posted that he watched 'The Notebook' with his wife at home, where the pair had their popcorn and tissues at the ready.

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It’s obvious that Djokovic’s talent is next level, but he also has to put himself in a position to succeed physically. He initially tested out a gluten-free diet for two weeks according to GQ Australia, and immediately felt better. He implemented it permanently, and felt “more alert, energetic and mentally sharper.”

GQ Australia’s piece noted that blood tests showed he was intolerant to wheat and dairy products, so dairy was also removed from his diet. This was difficult to hear since his parents own a pizza restaurant, but Djokovic knew what he had to do to achieve his dreams.

It’s not just the number of titles Djokovic has won. It’s how long his sustained greatness has been and continues to be. He’s the oldest number one player of all time, having achieved the feat in 2024 at age 36, as noted by ESPN.

Even though main rivals Federer and Nadal are no longer in the picture, Djokovic still has the fire to be the best. He told the ATP Tour’s website that the emergence of younger stars like Carlos Alcaraz keeps the competitive desire going.

Djokovic’s violin imitation celebration has been much discussed by fans. It’s an interesting choice, as other legends tend to go with more spirited tributes. Djokovic has a personal reason for breaking out the violin, telling Sporting News, “My daughter has been playing the violin for some time already, six months, and we agreed that I would celebrate that way.”

Djokovic also brought out a saxophone during the 2025 Australian Open. He told Sporting News, “my son told me to play the saxophone. So I try to incorporate them both.”

Novak Djokovic has two younger brothers named Marko and Djordje. Both of them were tennis players like their star older brother.

According to Essentially Sports, Marko experienced more success as a doubles player, as he ranked as high as 571 in the world on the ATP Tour. Djordje didn’t get to the same heights as Marko, but both brothers have played doubles tournaments with Novak in the past.

Djokovic has never been afraid to be different, which has taken him on some different life paths. He remembers his time in Bali fondly, telling the Hindustan Times, “It’s one of the most special places in the world, honestly I was blown away by how kind and genuine people are and the energy of that island is very special.”

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Djokovic continued, “What got me to go there was the Green School in Bali. It’s a very unique concept of education that was very interesting to us. For the last couple of years we have known about the concept. We were introduced to the concept by friends who have their kids studying in the school in Bali.”

According to Punto de Break, Djokovic speaks up to seven languages fluently, and has knowledge of four others. He knows his native Serbo-Croatian, as well as English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and French. He also knows some Japanese, Russian, Arabic and Chinese.

Djokovic said, “I have loved learning languages since I was a child. I soon realized that if I wanted to pursue tennis, it would be very beneficial to speak several languages because it is a sport that requires constant travel around the world.”

Novak is married to his wife Jelena, who he has known since at least high school. Novak and Jelena played tennis at school, so the sporting connection remained strong even back then.

She told Hello, “Us getting together was like science fiction almost. I was a student barely getting by, and he was a young tennis player who also had no money to spare on expensive trips.” Jelena studied at Bocconi University in Milan.

According to Housing’s website, Djokovic is the owner of a mansion in Marbella, Spain. The property reportedly costs $10 million, and has nine bedrooms and eight bathrooms. As one might imagine, there is a tennis court on the grounds, as well as a swimming pool, cinema room and spa.

Hello Magazine wrote that Djokovic and his family lived in Monte Carlo for 15 years before moving to Marabella. The family spent a lot of time in Spain during the pandemic.

We’ve talked about the nutritional preparation Djokovic follows, but he’s also a huge believer in getting his mind right before matches. In his book Serve to Win, he wrote, “I do it everyday for about 15 minutes and it is as important to me as my physical training. Instead of trying to silence your mind or find ‘inner peace’, you allow and accept your thoughts as they come… They do bounce around like crazy, but they’re supposed to, your job is to let them come and go.”

“I’ve done so much mindfulness that my brain functions better now automatically… I used to freeze up whenever I made a mistake. Now when I blow a serve or shank a backhand I still get those flashes of self doubt but I know how to handle them.”

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