Novak Djokovic revealed to be helping 20-year-old budding Serbian star financially

Novak Djokovic is arguably the greatest men’s tennis player of all time and the most successful statistically. Moreover, even at the age of 36, he remains one of the toughest players to beat, continues to hold a vice-grip on the No.1 spot in the ATP rankings. He won three of the four Grand Slams this year, missing out on a Calendar Slam after finishing runner-up at Wimbledon.

Djokovic is also known to be generous in terms of helping younger players and an example of that, as it turns out, is rising 20-year-old Serbian star Hamad Medjedovic. Medjedovic revealed recently that the 24-time Grand Slam winner has been helping him out financially.

“Novak Djokovic’s been helping me out financially. Giving me whatever I need for my career. He covered it all. He just helped me out when I needed it and [is] still helping me out in all types of ways. I’m glad he’s there for me,” said the 20-year-old in an interview with Serbian news portal ‘Sportal’.

Medjedovic’s father had the same in an interview with the publication last year, stating that it is the equivalent of someone like Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo telling a young player to come play with them. This was after Djokovic had called Medjedovic over to train with him.

“We did not spend a dime, and believe me, that is not a small amount in the world of tennis, on the contrary,” said Medjedovic’s father Eldin. “Imagine, the best player in the world is calling my kid to work together in the preseason, it is like [Lionel] Messi or [Cristiano] Ronaldo telling you: ‘Let’s play some football’, or: ‘Let me know if you need anything.’

Djokovic is known to keep an eye out for budding Serbian tennis stars, having opened up the Novak Tennis Center in Belgrade 15 years ago. While Medjedovic is yet to make a name for himself on the tour, with a career-high ranking 102, he had won the Mallorca Challenger in September and Djokovic had given him a call to congratulate him.

“These kinds of things are rare in today’s world, but thank God there are still people who don’t care only about money, but about the human side of things,” Medjedovic’s father had said last year.

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