"You have the game to become a top player": Hamad Medjedovic recalls what Novak Djokovic told him as partnership began
ATP
Rising tennis player Hamad Medjedovic has been playing some of his best tennis on the ATP tour in his young career, and the Serbian credited some of his success to a conversation he had with compatriot Novak Djokovic a few years ago.
Medjedovic turned pro in 2021, and is on the verge of breaking into the top 100 as he currently sits at World No.107. The 20-year old won the biggest trophy of his career last year when he upset Arthur Fils to win the title at the 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals tournament in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Pep talk from Djokovic helped boost his confidence, says Medjedovic
The 24-time Grand Slam champion has been assisting the youngster financially and through mentorship during the early stages of his career, which began after the duo practiced together a few years ago. In a recent interview with the YouTube podcast Reketiranje, Medjedovic spoke about how Djokovic's words of wisdom inspired him to believe in himslef.
"Something Novak told me about four or five years ago when I was finishing my junior career, we practiced and he called me to meet him and said, 'You have to start believing in your shots and your tennis. You have the game to become a top player. You've got a game, you just have to never doubt it'," recalled Medjedovic. "That's what I'm left with and what I remember – believe in your shots, believe you can do it. When you hear that from Novak, who is the best tennis player of all time, then you start thinking a little bit."
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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