Marko Djokovic, brother of tennis player Novak Djokovic, is participating these days in the ITF Isla de Lanzarote II. He has already managed to overcome the previous phase and in the first round he will have to face the French Arthur Mitard.
"I am very happy to be in Lanzarote. I usually train in Marbella, where I reside, but I had never been to Lanzarote and it is very different. The weather at this time is very good for training and playing, and that helps," explains Marko Djokovic.
Not only the climate has impressed the Serbian tennis player, but also the event itself, since "the level is very good and the organization is much better than that of other Futures (professional tournaments that are part of the International Tennis Federation, ITF)" in which he has participated. In addition, he is happy with the development of the tournament because he is playing "match by match", "without rushing to win". "I go day by day and if I don't win, nothing happens," he says.
The ITF Isla de Lanzarote II puts an end to the season, in which there have been a total of 42 tournaments in Spain. "The year 2013 is getting very long, many tournaments and I am not playing at my best level. This is the last tournament of the year, then I return to Marbella to continue training and think about next season," comments the Serbian, who has doubts about whether he will be able to meet with his family during the Christmas holidays. "Let's see if we can get the whole family together, because I don't know if my two brothers will be in some tournament. If we can celebrate it together, better," he says.
"I feel pressure for being Novak's brother"
Marko Djokovic does not stand out in the ATP ranking, he is even falling after a season where the results have not accompanied him as in the previous season, but he does not lose sight of the horizon and lives calmly despite the pressure of the surname. "I feel pressure for being Novak's brother, it is a question that they always ask me. It has positive and negative things... He is my brother and that gives me the possibility to play in many places, I have a coach, sponsors, many trips, tournaments... but it is very difficult because many people look at me differently," he says.
Despite this, he tries to live normally, like any tennis player, downplaying being the brother of the world number 2. "My brother doesn't give me advice, when we are together we don't talk about tennis. We don't spend much time together during the year and we take the opportunity to do other things, tennis is what we talk about the least," he says.
However, this does not mean that the brothers never train together. "In three weeks we will train together for two weeks and, as we are going to dedicate the time to training, then we will talk about tennis. I learn a lot, because he is Novak Djokovic... you have to listen to him, because he is one of the best tennis players in the world," he defends.
"My dream would be to play against my brother"
Marko's dream in the world of tennis is not to win renowned tournaments, but it is much more sentimental. "My dream would be to play against my brother Novak. We have played doubles many times and we are happy, but playing against my older brother would be a great illusion, as would playing one day against my younger brother," the tennis player confesses excitedly.
Before saying goodbye, he also had some words to praise Spanish tennis, confessing that "right now it is one of the great powers, because it has Nadal or Ferrer, for example". "It has many players in the Top20 and not many countries can say that, in addition to the juniors who are playing very well. I am sure that many of the young people who are in these tournaments will be a Nadal or a Ferrer in the future," he says.