Novak Djokovic once revealed how he was offered British citizenship during his early teenage years. He recollected the perks moving to the island nation would have brought to his family. However, the Serb said he rejected the opportunity because of his love for his home country.
Djokovic has built a storied career and representing his country has been a firm pillar of his journey. He won the 2010 Davis Cup for the Eastern European nation and also secured an Olympic bronze. He led Serbia to the 2023 Davis Cup semi-finals before falling against Italy. Former coach Boris Becker lauded him for passionately playing for his nation, saying it sets him apart from his peers.
The World No.1 disclosed he received an opportunity to become a British citizen when he was 14 (via @Olly_Tennis_). Djokovic said his great performances in age group tournaments got noticed by tennis agents, resulting in the offer.
“I was doing really well in international tournaments under-12 and under-14. So, I got spotted by tennis agents travelling around in these junior events. Then we got offered to switch nationalities to British nationality when I was 14 years old.”
He said the proposal was very attractive as it included guaranteed jobs for his parents and a house. He admitted it was a great offer, pondering how life would have been if he had taken it up.
“It was very tempting at that time for my parents. My parents would get a job, my family would have a house. It was a great great deal, I’m not saying that we would be particularly wrong if we did that. Who knows where the journey would have taken us.”
Djokovic said he did not need money as desperately as before. His tournament winnings provided enough for his travel and coaching. He said he was proud of being a Serbian and did not want to give that up.
“But I didn’t need the money as much as I had done. I had begun to make some for myself, enough to afford to travel with a coach, and I said, ‘Why the heck?’ I am Serbian, I am proud of being a Serbian, I didn’t want to spoil that just because another country had better conditions.”
Novak Djokovic passionate about representing Serbia despite alleged Western bias
Novak Djokovic reflected on how his career would have been had he accepted the citizenship and played for Great Britain. He said his performance would have remained the same, but he would never have felt at home. The 24-time Grand Slam winner claimed, however, he would have been ‘glorified’ by the West since he would not have been playing for Serbia.
“If I had played for Great Britain, of course, I would have played exactly as I do for my country but deep inside, I would never have felt that I belonged. If I wasn’t from Serbia, I’d have been glorified on a sporting level many years ago, especially in the West.”
Djokovic had previously slammed the ‘western world’ for their supposed bias against him because of his nationality. He believed had he not been Serbian, he would have been hailed as one of the greatest sportspersons long ago.
He has always been passionate about his homeland. Great Britain, meanwhile, can only wonder how it would have been to have Djokovic on their side. Serbia beat the British in the 2023 Davis Cup Final 8 quarter-finals. Britain would have likely walked away with the win if Djokovic had accepted the offer and featured for them.
