When Novak was asked recently where he would most like to win, he said through laughter, apologising if he came across as arrogant, “I don't know, I've already won everything”
A onda Igre. Ivani sam svakod- nevno slala poruke: „Kako ti se či- ni Nole?“, „Da li se žali na nešto?“, „Jesi gledala trening? Šta je pričao?“ Usledili bi kratki i koncizni Ivanini odgovori. Tek kada se vratila sa Iga- ra, rekla mi je: – Bio je sve vreme fokusiran. Jak kao stena. Videlo se da je re- šen da osvoji. Nije bio nervozan i to što nije bio u selu mu je pomo- glo. Znao je šta nije valjalo u Toki- ju, pa je to menjao. Za razliku od mene, Ivana je dobila savršenu sliku za ram. Onu u kojoj je Nole olimpijski šampion. Onu u kojoj se čuje kako peva naj- lepšu himnu na svetu. Malo je ve- likih trijumfa koji dobiju planetar- ni odjek. Na prste jedne ruke mogu da se nabroje olimpijski šampioni čije priče tresu svet. Takvi su Majkl Felps, Simon Bajls, Jusein Bolt. A naš Novak Đoković je jedan od njih. I šta sada? Šta je sledeći cilj za čoveka koji je došao do najve- ćeg olimpijskog uspeha, svetskog uspeha, svega... Pa za početak Ju- Es Open. Ukoliko Đoković poko- ri Njujork, postaće prvi u istoriji, u obe konkurencije, koji je osvojio 25 grend slemova. Eto, neka to bu- de cilj već u ovom septembru, a po- sle ćemo videti. Važno da je savr- šena slika dobila svoj ram. Novak Đoković. Čovek koji je osvojio sve.
IT’S RARE THAT I’M JEAL- OUS OF MY COLLEAGUES, BUT ... I loved my work desk colleague Iva- na a little less because she was got to watch live what I’ve been dream- ing about since I started this job some 13 years ago. When heading to Tokyo fo- ur years ago, I had an image in my mind: Novak Đoković be- coming Olympic champion, wi- th gold hanging around his neck as we sing the anthem together. You could have heard it all the way to Belgrade. That image was only ideal until the semi-final. Then Alexander Zverev became the star of the show, and we tal- ked about Nole as being the big- gest loser of that Olympics. “I’ve once again disappo- inted the country, and all of you,” he told me on that hot and humid August day in Japan. Like it was only yesterday. “Come on... It will happen in Paris,” I said. “I failed,” he answered. And then came a new pro- blem ahead of the new Olympi- cs. I’ve been a witness to many of Novak’s successes, but unfor- tunately also his failures. This year in Paris, just two months ahead of the start of the Games, I watched Đoković have to retire from the French Open due to a torn meniscus. That was his dre- ss rehearsal before the most im- portant competition of the ye- ar. I remember that day in Paris, when I broke the news that No- vak had pulled out. I also re- member the conversation we had, which was linked to his age. “Age is just a number for you. If there’s anyone who can defy the years, it’s you,” I said, aware that it would be more dif- ficult for the 37-year-old No- vak to prepare for the final matc- hes on the clay courts of Roland Garros than for his young rivals.
“True, but... Seeya in two months,” he said to me at the ti- me. And then came the Olympi- cs. I sent Ivana messages every day: “How does Nole seem to you?”, “Is he complaining abo- ut something?”, “Did you watch him training? What did he say?” Ivana would respond with short and concise answers. It was only when she returned from the Ga- mes that she told me everything. “He was focused the whole time. Strong as a rock. You could see that he was resolved to win. He wasn’t nervous and was hel- ped by the fact that he wasn’t in the village. He knew what hadn’t been right in Tokyo, so he chan- ged it.” Unlike me, Ivana got that perfect picture to frame. The one in which Nole is Olympic champion. The one in which you can almost hear him singing the world’s most beautiful na- tional anthem. Only a few gre- at triumphs reverberate arou- nd the planet. You can count the Olympic champions who- se stories have shook the wor- ld on the fingers of one hand. They include the likes of Micha- el Phelps, Simone Biles, Usain Bolt. And our own Novak Đoko- vić is among them. And what now? What’s the next goal for the man who ac- hieved the greatest Olympic su- ccess, world success, everyt- hing? Well, there’s the U.S. Open for starters. If Đoković prevails in New York, he will be- come the first in history, in eit- her men’s or women’s competi- tions, to win a 25 th Grand Slam. So, let that be the goal for this September, and after that we’ll see. The important thing is that the perfect picture received its frame. Novak Đoković. The man who won it all.
Olympics » Olimpijada | 101
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