Djokovic book: This is how the Serb's own body became sacred
Novak Djokovic polarizes like no other athlete. But how does the tennis star and ricochet really tick? In the first major biography (“A lifetime in war”), author Daniel Müksch explains how the Serb became a vaccine skeptic. An exclusive excerpt.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Mar 22, 2022, 09:14 am
The most spectacular defeat in Novak Djokovic's life does not end with a handshake at the net, but with a unanimous judge's decision at the Melbourne Federal Court. The Serb is not allowed to participate in the Australian Open 2022. Not trying to capture his 21st Grand Slam title and outperform Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in that ranking. Not doing what no tennis player has done more successfully before.
Who is the man keeping the world in suspense at the beginning of 2022? Who, in these memorable days, has become a symbol for categorical vaccination refusers, lateral thinkers, Serbian nationalists on the one hand and a victim of justice, a political pawn, freedom fighters on the other.
In "Novak Djokovic - A lifetime in war" (Werkstatt-Verlag/22€), author Daniel Müksch delves deep into the childhood of the most successful tennis player of recent years. In a childhood that runs happily with little financial means between Serbian Belgrade and the mountains of Kopaonik. Until the war brutally ended the light-heartedness. A childhood with nights in air-raid shelters, bombed-out houses and the search for normality. Novak Djokovic finds normalcy in tennis. Start a unique career. But he also becomes a controversial figure. Already at the beginning of his career, Novak Djokovic was considered an extremely talented tennis player, but also a player who gave up quickly. Especially when defeat is imminent. The Serb only really got this problem under control in 2010. This year an alternative doctor from Cyprus with Serbian origin appeared at his side - Dr. Igor Cetojevic. In "Novak Djokovic - A lifetime in war" author Daniel Müksch looks at the emergence of this special relationship between Cetojevic and Djokovic.
Tennisnet users can read an excerpt from the Serb's biography here:
For 2010, the Djokovic team around Marjan Vajda and Gebhard Gritsch is focusing on the same pre-season as two years before. A lot of training, but no tournament to warm up. Djokovic's first appearance is the Australian Open in Melbourne. In the quarterfinals in Melbourne there will be a match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The match delivers world-class tennis from the first rally, no comparison to the final of the two two years earlier, which was a weak Grand Slam final. In 2008, Djokovic was the player who made fewer mistakes. In 2010, the player who puts his heart in his hand at crucial moments and puts the opponent under pressure wins. In the first sentence, that's the muscle colossus from France. 7:6 for Tsonga. Djokovic clawed the second set 7: 6. The Serb is slowly taking control of the encounter. It looks like he'll be able to win the stunning match thanks to his fitness. With 6: 1, the third set also goes to him.
The dramatic turnaround after just one game in the fourth set. A few minutes ago Djokovic felt in top form and superior to his opponent. Now this: He can't breathe anymore. With the score at 0: 2, the Serb feels that he is getting sick. Something rises up his throat. He flees into the dressing room. Actually an unauthorized break from competition. The third in the world rankings runs right past the head referee, who signals to the chair referee that things are going to be okay. Djokovic should rather throw up alone in the washrooms than in front of thousands of fans in the stadium and millions in front of the screens. "I felt like I was throwing up all my strength," Djokovic later describes the situation. The Serb has to admit defeat after his return to the pitch. Tsonga didn't let the interruption throw him off and made short work of it: he won sets four and five 6: 3 and 6: 1 and made it into the semi-finals in Melbourne.
#IMG2#
The Djokovic box is shocked. That can not be true! Is that starting again? One thing almost gets lost: Djokovic didn't give up even though he had a good reason. This time he fought his way through – and still lost. The season opener ends with an ugly journey into the past. The Serb's body is on strike.
One of the millions of TV viewers on January 26, 2010 is Dr. Igor Cetojevic. He follows the fight in Melbourne from Cyprus. The alternative doctor has his practice on the Mediterranean island. The game runs late at night in Australia and on Tuesday morning in Cyprus. Luckily for Dr. Cetojevic does not have any appointments at this time. The Serbian doctor has heard the name Novak Djokovic before, but he is not a tennis fan. So far he has only marginally followed the career of his compatriot, whom he admires at home. However, his wife Francesca raves about the Serbian tennis player and is looking forward to his match against Tsonga. So the couple is sitting together in front of the television on this Tuesday morning. In the scenes in which Djokovic seems physically exhausted, the TV commentary repeatedly speculates that the number three in the world is once again struggling with asthma. The spectator on Cyprus is surprised. Asthma? "It can't be asthma at all," I kept shouting in the direction of the television," says Dr. Cetojevic later told the English-language daily Gulf News. “In my experience with traditional Chinese medicine, asthma almost always occurs in the morning. Novak's match was in the evening Australian time. And if he really had asthma issues, he wouldn't have been able to play two excellent sets before that."
Such an abrupt loss of energy is Dr. Met Cetojevic many times. He is certain that he recognized the cause from a distance of more than 14,000 kilometers: "I assumed that Novak's problems came from an imbalance in the digestive tract. Triggered by a buildup of toxins in his gut. In classical Chinese medicine, the lungs are connected to the large intestine.” Cetojevic angrily turns off the television. And thinks. Djokovic? In conversations with Serbian friends, the name came up more often. His wife interjects that a mutual friend knows the tennis player's father. They try to contact the family through this friend. The contact is successful. After a few hurdles in terms of scheduling, in July 2010 the first meeting between Dr. Igor Cetojevic and Novak Djokovic. On the edge of the explosive Davis Cup encounter between Croatia and Serbia in Split.
The tennis player prepares for a large, extensive examination for the meeting with the doctor. But the guest from Cyprus only does a few physical tests and after a few minutes has a result ready: "There are strong signs that your body is rejecting the wheat in the bread." Djokovic listens carefully. From the first moment he has the feeling that Cetojevic understands him. The Serbian origin unites. As a result, Djokovic often feels misunderstood on his travels around the world, but the doctor is a piece of home for him. And Cetojevic believes in alternative healing methods. Like Djokovic. The tennis pro was skeptical of classical medicine from an early age, which will pose major problems for him in the course of his career. The belief in self-healing powers and the skepticism about medication and vaccinations, he and Dr. Igor Cetojevic mean.
During the first examination in Split, the doctor connects a biofeedback device to Djokovic's head and wrists. The device converts hard-to-see signals of muscle tension, skin resistance and skin temperature into signals on a monitor. For Cetojevic, the result is clear: the famous patient is under constant, unhealthy stress. In addition, the so-called ELISA test - a blood test that can be used to detect food intolerance - shows that Djokovic has a strong intolerance to wheat and dairy products and a slight intolerance to tomatoes.
The doctor has a clear message for his tennis-playing compatriot: If he no longer wants his body to stand in his way, Novak Djokovic must change his diet immediately. He, whose parents once ran a pizzeria and who grew up with tons of bread, should suddenly do without it completely? Djokovic promises Cetojevic to deal with the issue, but that's not enough for the doctor. He persuades Djokovic to a 14-day trial period. Two weeks in which the tennis pro should completely avoid bread and other wheat products. In his 2013 book "Siegernahrung - Glutenfreiernahrung für Peakleistung", Djokovic describes this time as agonizing, but a change quickly set in. Above all, he slept better, no longer woke up at night with breathing problems and felt very fit during the day. After the 14 days of austerity, the tennis pro tells the doctor about his experiences. Cetojevic allows him a bagel as a reward for discipline. But the supposed pleasure backfires. "I had the feeling of a terrible hangover," Djokovic describes the morning after his bagel reward. That was the moment when he decided to radically change his diet.
Representatives of conventional medicine will point out the dangers emanating from doctors like Cetojevic. A broad scientific basis is missing for many of his theses. Private individuals should approach the Serbian doctor's methods with caution. It worked for Djokovic. First and foremost because Cetojevic not only reached the Serb's body, but also his faith, his spirit. And this does not move mountains with Novak Djokovic. He moves mountain ranges.
Here you can order the book by Daniel Müksch and others: either from Amazon or directly from the Werkstatt-Verlag .