A Cinderella story: Serbian tennis star Olga Danilovic's unexpected rise at French Open albeit with constant Djokovic mentions
WTA
Serbian tennis star, Olga Danilovic has been a real standout story of this year's French Open. She has recorded the best result of her career thus far qualifying for the claycourt major before going on a giant-killing run.
She dumped out Danielle Collins, Donna Vekic and now has Marketa Vondrousova in her sights to reach the Quarter-Finals. Ranked inside the world's top 125, she will head into the top 100 after the tournament for sure. She also played United Cup with Novak Djokovic earlier in the year.
He has been complementary about his compatriot. So in reality, the questions are going to be themed about the World No.1. But this seemed to annoy her initially where she said that she has spoken about him a billion times perhaps in a signal to the journalists to stop doing so.
But she still went on to laud the imperious 24-time Grand Slam champion not only for what he has done for her but also the sport. "Novak is such a huge figure around the world, but just talk a little bit about his role in Serbia and if you've met and spoke with him, has he shared anything with you?" the journalist asked.
"I've talked about Novak a billion times. I mean, don't get me wrong, I will talk again. For me, it's no problem. What we have in Serbia, I'm not sure if we appreciate it much because he is the best player in the world," Olga Danilovic said in her press conference on Sunday
"Having that kind of person in the same sport as me, for me, he's just a very humble and nice guy. Especially that he's the No. 1 in the world and for me, he's the greatest of all time."
"But, that he's really proud to represent the country, that he's really open for us to talk. I come to him with some day-to-day struggles that I have on-court, and he's really happy to share his thoughts with me," she said. "What he learned, what kind of mistakes he did, so maybe I don't have to do them. It's just something I try to appreciate as much as I can."
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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