• Title: Searching for Novak: The Man Behind the Enigma
• Author: Mark Hodgkinson
• Year:      2024
• Pages:   304
• Price:    Rs. 799
• Publisher: Octopus Publishing Group, UK

By U.B. Acharya

A book review like a film trailer arouses curiosity to the viewer/reader to watch the full movie or to elicit some interest in reading the entire book. However, in this case, the book is about a tennis player who is unquestionably the most successful tennis player and yet way down in the popularity list among the millions of fans. The author makes a case in favour of Novak Djokovic to convince the readers that he should not be condemned and instead respected not only as the greatest player of all times (GOAT) but also as a kind and friendly human being.

This book (published on 24th July 2024) is not a biography of a champion but describes some incidents in his life that has made him physically and mentally strong to face any kind of opposition. The first item the author writes is when Djokovic was 11 years old and when NATO bombers pounded Serbia day and night for 78 days. He felt fear and horror and was ‘disturbed emotionally.’

The author has visited the bunker to experience what the young boy went through. Fortunately, Djokovic ‘moved on from past’ because ‘hatred, revenge and betrayal could weigh him down both physically and personally. In the middle of a bombing campaign, Djokovic also carried on playing tennis.’ As Chris Evert put it “Bombing made him fearless.”

The next aspect is really crucial in Djokovic’s career. After winning the Australian Open in February 2008, Djokovic’s performance went down drastically. He started losing in early rounds or was giving walkovers to his opponents mainly due to breathlessness.

Roger Federer commented “I don’t trust his injuries. He is a joke.” He was treated for asthma but it did not help.

Enter Dr. Igor Cetojevic, a Bosnian born Serb — ‘studied Chinese medicine in Belgrade along with a degree from the Indian Institute of Magnotherapy in New Delhi’ — who practiced in Cyprus. The doctor did not know much of tennis but after watching him on TV (as advised by a common Serbian friend) losing badly in an early round at Australian Open in January 2010 felt he could help Djokovic.

‘At a restaurant in Split in the summer of 2010, firstly he pressed down on Djokovic’s right arm, with the player pushing back. Next, Cetojevic put a bread slice against his stomach and again pressed his right arm. Djokovic sensed he was weaker.’ It proved that gluten was weakening him!

Cetojevic also realised that ‘a son of pizzeria owners was intolerant not only to wheat products but also to cheese and mildly sensitive to tomatoes.’ He put Djokovic on a strict vegan diet for two weeks and found that his performance improved!  At the end of 2010, the doctor predicted that in 2011, he would win all four Grand Slams or at least three. Rest is history.

Until May 2016, Djokovic had not won the French Open and had lost the finals three times. Finally, when he won this title in June that year, he was like a deflated balloon. His form went down, partly due to his trusted coach Marian Wajda left him due to personal commitments and also, he developed elbow pain. His new coach Andre Agassi suggested surgery but Djokovic believed in                                                    natural healing.

Finally, after losing in the Australian Open in January 2018, he got himself operated to set right his elbow pain. Yet, he lost the next three tournaments and he declared, “I am done. I am quitting tennis!”

Fortunately, upon gentle prodding by his wife Jelena, he changed his mind and recalled his previous coach Wajda. He never looked back afterwards and won a dozen (yes 12) Grand Slam titles in the next five and a half years, thus creating several records.

His most traumatic experience came in January 2022. He had not been vaccinated against COVID 19 but was assured by Craig Tiley, CEO of Tennis Australia, that he would be exempted and allowed to play the Australian Open. Yet, he was detained and sent to ‘Park Prison’ like a common criminal. His ordeal inside the 97 square feet cell was awful but the experience made him even stronger. Thanks to the intervention of Alison Battison, a human rights lawyer, who succeeded in getting Djokovic deported out of the country. In spite of this, he returned to Australia in January 2023 and won his 10th Australian trophy.

From the last chapter entitled “GOAT,” I would like to quote what Chris Evert said. “It is not only about tennis now. Novak is in the conversation about greatest athletes of our times.”

If the book can convert at least one Djokovic hater into Djokovic neutral, I believe the author has succeeded in his objective.