“We’ve always had great athletes. But none had such importance as him”: Zoran Petkovic on Novak Djokovic (pictured)
Image: Reuters
Tennis coach Zoran Petkovic talks about Novak Djokovic’s fight against the rest of the tennis world, its importance for Serbs – and how he turns disadvantages against Nadal and Federer into advantages.
ZOran Petkovic grew up in the Bosnian city of Tuzla in what was then Yugoslavia as the son of Serbian parents. At eleven he was Bosnian, at twelve Yugoslav champions in tennis. At 16 he made his debut in the Yugoslav Davis Cup team. At eighteen he went to the United States on a scholarship, studied marketing and came to Germany and TEC Darmstadt, where he has been head coach for more than 30 years. Petkovic is married and has two daughters: Andrea and Anja. Andrea ended her professional career last year. She reached her highest place in the world rankings in 2011 with ninth place.
Mr. Petkovic, no world-class athlete polarizes as much as your compatriot Novak Djokovic. In Serbia he is a national hero, in tennis history since his victory at the French Open the player with the most wins in Grand Slam tournaments, 23 in number. In public perception outside of Serbia, he is controversial and criticized as anti-vaccination, esoteric, nationalist. What kind of person is he?
