Serbians are 'born with sports genes' with Djokovic a prime example

Serbia has always been known as an Eastern European sports powerhouse for its traditional strength and achievements, especially in the three major sports of football, basketball and volleyball.

For Chinese fans, when Serbian sports is discussed, tennis star Novak Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam singles winner, would very likely be the first name coming to mind.

As Serbia's sports icon, Djokovic's refrigerator magnets are even sold at newsstands in Belgrade. Whenever there is a tennis match involving the 37-year-old, the streets always seem quieter than usual as people are watching the TV broadcast and cheering for the national hero.

In fact, Chinese fans always expect the playful star to show off some new Chinese characters and new phrases, especially during the ATP 1000 Rolex Shanghai Masters, a tournament he has won four times.

The veteran Serb was runner-up at the elite tournament this year, losing to world No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy 6-7 (4), 3-6 in the final.

"I think he is still at the echelon of tennis players still playing competitively on the ATP Tour," Michael Luévano, tournament director of the Rolex Shanghai Masters, told Shanghai Daily.

"In almost the 20 years that Novak has been playing in China, he has shown nothing but a deep love and respect for Chinese fans, culture and the tournament.

"He often speaks and is learning Mandarin and uses it in post-match interviews, which makes him wildly popular among not just tennis fans but the Chinese public."

Luévano still remembers the day he picked Djokovic up from the airport for the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai 20 years ago.

"It was his first Masters Cup, and he was the youngest and most inexperienced in the field," Luévano said.

"In that tournament, he quickly lost all three of his round-robin matches and crashed out. After that disappointment though, he told me that he would come back and win the tournament, which he did in 2008.

"It is this single-minded and assured determination to surpass expectations and succeed without fail that I admire to this day. I believe this is his greatest trait as a tennis professional," he added.

Djokovic's mischievous behavior on court, including his earlier imitations of players such as Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova and Andy Roddick, has also drawn a large number of fans to him.

"I think Novak is very entertaining and talented," tennis fan Yang Lin said.

"I myself started to follow Novak when he won the Masters Cup in Shanghai in 2008," Yang explained. "In addition to showing his athletic ability, it is also important for an athlete to make the game and even the sport interesting to watch."

Hard work and determination to win are indeed the characteristics of some outstanding Serbian athletes, which include women's former world No. 1 tennis players Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic.

In basketball, the former Yugoslavia was once the world's dominant team. In the past 20 years, more than 20 Serbian players have played in the National Basketball Association.

Serbia's women's basketball and volleyball teams often reach the Olympic podium. Although Serbian football is not the best in the world, clubs like Red Star Belgrade and Partizan Belgrade have been household names in Europe.

Why is Serbia so good at sports? Djokovic himself has said that Serbians are born with sports genes. It might be true, but there could be other reasons.

Before the disintegration of Yugoslavia, the country's sports development adopted a national system similar to China's. Many sports schools were established across the country to train specialized sports talents and coaches.

Also, Yugoslavia vigorously developed academies for sports coaches. Those who studied or coached abroad were invited to teach in these academies and pass on the advanced training methods to their domestic counterparts.

Coaches were sent abroad to learn from other countries' advanced training and teaching methods in their advantageous sports. A high-quality coaching team can naturally train athletes to good levels.

In addition to the good inheritance tradition, people's love and dependence on sports is also an important reason that can't be ignored.

During the war-torn years in the Balkans, sports became the general public's greatest comfort. The positive, never-give-up and united spirit in sports is what the Serbian people have always needed. Victories on sports courts or fields became the most direct and simple reasons for people to celebrate.

There is no scientific evidence to prove whether Serbians have an innate physical advantage in sports, but their love and dedication to sporting endeavors is definitely worth learning from.