'Coming from a war-torn country…,' Novak Djokovic talks about how he fell in love with tennis

Djokovic talked about the first time he thought about playing the sport. The Serbian revealed how an interaction with workers on a tennis court pushed him to pick up the racket. He revealed that when his country was going through a war crisis, he used to spend time in Kopaonik, seeing the workers on the tennis court.

Djokovic shared an anecdote where he revealed that he got a chance to walk on the court in exchange for bringing beers for the workers. He then bragged to his parents about that and convinced them to buy him a racket.

I did (fall in love with tennis from the get-go). I was four or five years old coming from a war-torn country at that time...I was four years old, '91. That was at a mountain called Kopaonik...We spent a lot of time on that mountain and they had three tennis courts. The workers were seeing me hanging on the fence and were like 'Why don't you bring us beer and will let you do the courts with us. From that moment, I was bragging to my parents, you've got to buy me a racket, I want to play tennis. And that's how the love affair started. Novak Djokovic said to Nick Kyrgios on his talk show Good Trouble.

Novak Djokovic sheds light on the importance of consistency

Novak Djokovic talked about the consistency that has been the highlight of his career. Staying at the top of the game for so long, Djokovic declared that consistency is important for anyone who wants to achieve a certain goal in their life.

Djokovic admitted that there can be days when the inspiration and motivation hit rock bottom and it has happened to him too. However, the Serbian talked about the importance of walking yourself through those emotions and getting the lost motivation back.

You need consistency in anything if you want to do it well in life. I feel gratitude for the life that I have but there are mornings when I feel demotivated and lack of inspiration to travel and play tennis. But then you have to overcome that and it all starts and ends with your mind...The clarity helps set up the kind of routines, and long-term and short-term goals. Novak Djokovic said about importance of consistency.

Notably, Djokovic changed his routine in the early part of his professional tennis career and then stuck with it over the years. It eventually worked in his favor and now he is the player with most Grand Slam titles. Even at 37 years of age, he is moving quickly across the court and making his opponents sweat for every point.