Novak Djokovic is an absolute legend today tennishe won everything there was to win, and his greatest dream of Olympic gold came true this year in Paris. However, in 2009 he was only “on the cusp” of winning the biggest trophies. He already had a Grand Slam title under his belt, won in 2008 at the Australian Open. However, he was still far from the dominator he later became.
Kosovo still a cause of major conflict
One of the most terrifying stories from the Serb's career comes from 2009. His mother Dijana told Serbian media that in London their entire family had to be under the constant protection of Scotland Yard. “Novak was threatened by the Albanian mafia, the police were at home all the time! Djokovic went through hell,” we read in mondo.rs. There was a danger from the Albanian mafia. The reason for the mafiosi's fury was… Kosovo.
Kosovo has been an independent country since 2008, located between Serbia and Albania. The former consider it to be their territory, despite being largely inhabited by Albanians. The conflict over these territories continues to this day, and during sporting events there is no shortage of provocations from fans. This was visible during Euro 2024, where fans of Balkan nations regularly took offense, and One of the Albanian football players even chanted offensive chants against North Macedonia and Serbia.
Djokovic Enraged Albanian Gangsters, Scotland Yard Had to Act
Returning to Djokovic, the Serb in 2009, shortly after Kosovo declared independence, publicly stated that “Kosovo is Serbia and should remain so.” It was these words that so enraged the Albanians.
– I was terrified then because we were at home and Scotland Yard was all around us. Later, people wondered why Novak lost to Marat Safin. He lost because he was under pressure, but that was not mentioned. Many things were not told then and we did not need to talk about them. The most important thing is that we survived that difficult time and nothing happened to us – said Dijana Djokovic.