By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Tennis legend Novak Djokovic has been promoting his new documentary, Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in Winter,” which premieres on Amazon Prime Video on Aug 20.
Djokovic stopped by for an interview on Tennis Channel to discuss the ins and outs of the documentary and its connection to another athlete and a documentary.
“It’s a multiyear project,” Dkokovic said. “It took quite a bit of time. I’m very grateful to Amazon and Patience, and to Jason as well, who directed The Last Dance, one of the best sports documentaries ever. He has a great way and experience of telling a story of athletes, on the personal side.”
The Last Dance set the bar high for how to make a great sports documentary. Djokovic, like many people and athletes in general, looks up to Michael Jordan and admires the kind of athlete he was. The Last Dance helped Djokovic understand what adversity Jordan went through.
The Last Dance paved the way for Djokovic to be vulnerable and open about his story.
“He’s one of my sporting idols,” Djokovic said. “I didn’t know much about him, about what he was going through, with adversity and the criticism and judgment. When you’re at the top, people always try to find a flaw and shoot bullets at you.”
Before Jordan won his first championship, the media constantly judged and criticized him. Many people didn’t think he was as good as Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. Djokovic had to deal with criticism as well. Many people loved seeing Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer and viewed Djokovic as the “party crasher.” Whether people liked it or not, Djokovic was going to dominate and make you respect him.
Djokovic learned from Jordan about mental toughness, internal strength, and perseverance. Both Jordan and Djokovic find motivation in anything that people say or do to elevate their performance. Great competitive athletes will find a way to add wood into the fire.
“Inat is the force of stubbornness that we as Serbians proudly use when we feel like everyone is against us,” Djokovic said.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
X: @mmm_sportnfilms, Instagram: @miguel_passionforsports and @themmmjournal, LinkedIn: The MMM Journal, TikTok: @miguelmikemedina