Novak Djokovic won a record-breaking seventh Nitto ATP Finals title on Sunday to secure his 71st Big Title, which consists of Grand Slam victories, trophies from the Nitto ATP Finals, ATP Masters 1000 events, and Olympic singles gold medals.
The 36-year-old, who has been at the top of the game for over 15 years, has consistently inspired and supported Hamad Medjedovic. Medjedovic remembers their first encounter with the 24-time Grand Slam winner.
The 20-year-old Hamad Medjedovic will compete in the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM in Jeddah next week to follow in his mentors’ footsteps.
Medjedovic discussed his early influences and said: “It was a big thing for sure growing up to have so many good players in our country. I remember starting to watch tennis when I was a kid. We had Novak Djokovic, Viktor Troicki, and Janko Tipsarevic, and they were so good.”
He further added: “I remember watching them constantly. As a kid, it gave me a lot of motivation to start playing tennis and then to become one of them because I saw that they could do it. They’re coming from a small country, same as me, and it gave me a lot of motivation and self-belief that I could do it as well.”
Hamad Medjedovic in 2023
Now ranked no.111, the Serbian played his last match on the 16th of November when he was overcome by world no.147 Jakub Mensik 4-6 7-6(2) 7-6(8) in the 2nd
round of the Danderyd Challenger (draw).Presently, during this year Medjedovic has a compiled 43-23 match record. Medjedovic clinched 3 titles in 2023 in the Szekesfehervar Challenger, the Mauthausen Challenger and the Mallorca Challenger.
Novak Djokovic in 2023
Ranked world no.1, Novak played his last match on the 19th of November when he defeated world no.4 Jannik Sinner 6-3 6-3 in the final in the Nitto ATP Finals to win his 98th career title.
This year Djokovic achieved an overall 55-6 win-loss record. The Serbian conquered 7 titles in 2023 in Adelaide, Australian Open, French Open, Cincinnati, U.S. Open, Paris and the Nitto ATP Finals. Novak reached the final in Wimbledon.
Hamad Medjedovic and Novak Djokovic have never faced off.