Inside the mind of a 24-time Grand Slam winner: Novak Djokovic reveals his greatest-ever victory, how he stays mentally strong and why he wishes he could be like Sylvester Stallone

What motivates great players to keep winning?

If there was a straight answer to that question, perhaps we’d all be winners.

But as Novak Djokovic explains, there may be ‘no system’, no methodology and no right way to go about winning. 

As sports fans, we are extremely lucky to have lived through an era where athletes including Tiger Woods, Serena Williams, Simone Biles and Novak Djokovic have all pushed the boundaries of what they are capable of achieving in their discipline.

Djokovic holds the record for having won the most men’s singles Grand Slam titles, usurping greats like Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to achieve the feat. 

But amongst all the wins, which also includes 99 titles on the ATP Tour, there is one that stands out the most for the former world No 1 – and his reasoning behind that victory is perhaps a testament to what he stands for as an athlete.

‘Probably the highlight of my career, what I achieved in Paris last year,’ Djokovic said speaking during ASICS’ Tennis Summit in Melbourne last week.

‘I’ve been lucky enough to achieve great things in my career but winning the gold medal in Serbia, at the age of 37 was probably the last best chance I had to go for the gold.

‘Under the circumstances of having surgery not long before that on my knee. Coming back and playing the finals of Wimbledon, you know, really getting the highest possible motivation and inspiration for myself to represent my country to have a shot at winning gold.’

Having won bronze in Beijing, Djokovic had been chasing Olympic Gold for nearly 16 years in the lead-up to the Paris Games.

And he would finally clinch the Golden Slam in 2024 – becoming the fifth player to do so, swiping a booming forehand past Carlos Alcaraz, before dropping to his haunches overcome with emotion.

‘It happened in an almost movie-like scenario for me, having my wife and my kids with me,’ he added.

‘Just incredible support and atmosphere. A lot of the Serbian Olympic athletes were there for the finals.’

Twelve of his 24 slams came before he turned 30. But of all his epic wins there was nothing quite like winning the Paris Olympics.

‘The celebration was unlike any other celebrations from any of my achievements before. It lasted for days, weeks after. I spent some time in the Olympic Village. I came to the ASICS headquarters in Paris at that time and went back to my country and just had an Olympic gold medal tour after that. Going to the United States, China, I was very proud. Definitely the proudest moment I’ve ever had.’

His reasoning behind that is also perhaps telling of the former world No 1’s character.

‘Winning for your country is unlike anything else.

‘We are individual athletes so of course we represent our countries whenever we are competing in individual tournaments.

‘But Olympic games are unlike any other sports events. It happens every four years so the opportunity [to play] is very rare. It was just a wonderful fairytale moment.’

For Djokovic, it was the accumulation of pain from his previous attempts to win a gold medal that made the victory so sweet.

He admitted that while he was on court he had flashbacks of some of his past woes at the Games, adding: ‘That was probably the strongest most intense set of emotions I’ve experienced around a tournament.’

Controlling those emotions has been key to his success. Djokovic, like most people, explains that he too gets nervous when he steps up to compete.

While this year’s Australian Open would not go how he may have wanted, with the 37-year-old retiring with a hamstring injury mid-way through his semi-final against Alexander Zverev, there’s no doubt he will be back again to compete on the big stage. 

Mental resilience is something he has had to work on throughout his career and is something, he complains, is something he is continuinually working on.

‘A few days ago I heard a man saying in an interview that his father was a professional boxer. He’s retired now. His father told him: “The worst athlete is the nervous athlete”.

‘It was a very interesting saying, just one sentence. A very simple, but a very strong message behind it. I would say that knowing how stressed and nervous I get on the court, I don’t think it’s wrong if you experience those emotions. It’s part of the competition because you care about it.

‘But I think what is important is how you bounce back to the optimal stage where you focus on the next move or point. I think this is where the secret lies in relation to mental strength.

‘There are so many challenges involved in a single tennis match. You know if something is wrong, or I haven’t slept very well last night or I felt a little bit strange or sluggish in practice, you kind of push through it. 

‘You know that you maybe are not going to get what you want from your practice but you are getting those bonus points mentally that you’re kind of stacking on the side that you can use as a reserve when it matters.

‘You prove to yourself that you can overcome certain moments which seem to be very difficult to overcome.

He added: ‘I feel like it’s a constant battle within and that’s why training yourself mentally and emotionally is just as important as training physically. Because there is nobody that can replace you when things start to go south.’

In a way, that is also why he chooses to wear ASICS footwear.

The brand’s ethos revolves around establishing a sound mind through exercise, with ASICS uniquely calling themselves ‘caregivers’ – helping athletes reach their potential while supporting their mental well-being.

‘That’s why Sound Mind, Sound Body [ASICS’ mission statement] resonates with me, because it is super important for a professional tennis player or an athlete or anybody. Because when you are feeling content with yourself, you are able to get the most out of that moment.

‘At the end of the day we are all human beings, it is difficult to be at your best all the time. I remind myself because I’m very self-critical, that it’s not possible to always be at your best in every training session and every match. 

‘So it’s an ongoing evolution in terms of understanding yourself and the changes you’re experiencing in your body and mind. I try to nurture an open mind and openness towards anything around me. 

‘I try to learn from videos, podcasts, books and people that I talk to. When you least expect is when you get the lesson. Ego gets in the way but it is hard to learn something from someone when you’re stuck in your system.’

Interestingly, he delved into what methodology works best for him, when it comes to managing his wellbeing and physical training.

‘I recently asked one of my friends: “What is your system?”

‘He replied: “My system… there is no system. It’s an open system. It’s ever-evolving.’

‘I think it’s really smart. Because yes we have our own approach and system that we have which is constructive to a point. But that changes. I wish I could play like I did at the 2023 Australian Open. Smacking every ball, winning the whole tournament only dropping one set.’

Djokovic said he wished it could be as easy as freezing yourself in time and waking up in the future to find you still have the same talents. But he added you must keep adapting to what the world throws at you.

‘I wish I could freeze myself in that moment like Stallone in the movie Demolition Man. He wakes up in 50 years time and people are not using toilet paper… So anyway he’s shocked and he’s like what’s going on and you can’t be frozen. Everything is changing.’

Commendably, at the age of 37, Djokovic is still able to compete at the top level and while talk of a changing of the guard is taking place in tennis, he continues to prove, when coming up against younger stars like Alcaraz, Zverev and Daniil Medvedev, that he still has miles in the tank to continue to compete.

Family life though is important for the 24-time slam winner. He has two young children, Stefan and Tara, who inspire him to keep performing at his best in all aspects of his life.

‘Also I’m a young parent of two wonderful children and they trigger me as well lots so I have to be performing at my best at home too, and for my wife, which is another challenge.’

‘All in all, it’s really interesting.’