Serbia's Olga Danilovic is one of the few youngsters who have played tennis alongside 24-time
Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic — an experience she defined as surreal.
Danilovic
and Djokovic were teammates during the 2024 United Cup in Australia. The two
paired up for a deciding doubles showdown against China’s Zheng Qinwen and Zhang
Zhizhen.
The two put
on a spirited performance to win 6-4, 1-6, 10-6 and secure the tie for Serbia. It
was an overwhelming experience for Danilovic as she described it in a recent
episode of the Tennis Insider Club podcast, saying:
"The United Cup we played together in mixed doubles, I was tight, like I cannot miss one ball, my goal is to play like a superhero today, and we won. It was such a nice moment. I wanted it so much and I felt like… 'I’m not going to disappoint you. You didn’t disappoint me by playing with me, I’m not going to disappoint you, I’m going to play the best.'"
"So that was a really bucket-list moment for me. You know, when we were walking onto the court, I remember I saw on the big screen. I saw Serbians. We play for Serbia and I see myself walking. I see him walking behind me. I’m like 'Oh my God, we’re stepping on.'"
She joined
forces with the legend once again for the reimagined mixed-doubles competition
at the US Open earlier this year. This time, however, they failed to cross the
finish line against the Russian pair of Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev.
Danilovic has
cultivated a strong bond with Djokovic, who is often celebrated for helping the youth find their footing in tennis.
"He is very involved with Serbian tennis, I would say Balkan, he’s very open to us to speak about all the things. When you speak to him… after I finish the conversation, I’m like ‘Give me a racket, I’m going to beat everyone’, because you feel like he really mastered the game. Especially his mentality and the way he’s dealing with a lot of things. I’m very proud that I can call him my friend."- Olga Danilovic
Serbia was moved to tears by Novak Djokovic’s Olympic glory, says Olga Danilovic
Later in
the same episode of the Tennis Insider Club podcast, Olga Danilovic noted that
Novak Djokovic’s actions inspire people more than anything. She suggested the
former World No. 1’s Olympic glory in 2024 moved Serbians to tears.
"His best advice, I don’t know, I can never tell you like one thing that he told me. But it’s more of the mental toughness that he has. For me, every time I watch him, I’m like, 'How man? How? I don’t know this Olympics he won.'"
"I think it was the most emotional day in our whole country. Everyone was crying. So, I would just say that the way he is representing himself and the way that whenever we speak, like he’s very true to himself and that’s what I honor the most. So, I would say maybe, ‘do what you feel like doing’ — that’s what he shows us every day and I take it as the best, best advice."- Olga Danilovic
Djokovic has voiced his ambitions to draw curtains on his illustrious career wearing Serbian colors at the 2028 LA Olympics. He came close to winning a mixed-doubles bronze at the Tokyo Games with Nina Stojanovic.
With a gold and bronze in singles already in the bag, perhaps the 24-time Grand Slam champion would ask Danilovic to join forces to vie for the mixed-doubles gold in his final quest for Serbia.
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