The Brothers Djokovic

[Kieran]

Novak says the pressure of him being world #1 has forced his older brother to quit playing tennis. The article is here.

Obviously with lots of success that I had throughout all my career basically, juniors and then professional circuit, that added extra pressure on them and expectations, it was very difficult for them to handle such expectations.

Now, I can understand this, the pressure from a siblings huge success having a detrimental effect on the brothers, but the older brother wasn't doing anything anyway, right? Not to criticise him unnecessarily because he was still much better than the gazillion folks who swing a stick every Saturday, but even if Novak wasn't a great player, we'd never have heard of the older brother. In fact, it most likely benefitted him having a rich successful and obviously generous great player in the family. He had greater opportunities than most starting-out kids.

The younger brother is persevering.

Obvious parallels are shown in the McEnroe and Murray families, where we see a hugely successful brother in singles, and one who's quite useful and successful in doubles. It's a pity if the younger Djoker brother decides to drop out just because of pressure. I think he should still look to find his own place on the foothills of the sport before it gets too late...

 

[Kirijax]

That's something I've always wondered. It's got to be tough to be the sibling of a hugely successful person. There are always comparisons and then what do you do for a career? You could work in some capacity for your sibling but that has its pitfalls. Some handle it better than others I'm sure. I think it would suck but what can you do?

 

[Puppet Master]

Well, if having 2 Djokovics on tour is impossible then perhaps Novak should retire to let his brother play the game he loves most?

 

[nehmeth]

The added "pressure" probably has something to do with it.

Mostly though, Marko just doesn't possess the athleticism (or skill set) to succeed. Djordje has more potential, but still not anything close to Novak.