I left home at 12 years of age not for good reasons, says Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic commented on how it felt to leave home at an early age, 12 years.
The Belgrade native said: "I didn't leave home for good. I went to train in Niki Pilic Tennis Academy in Germany first time when I was 12 after the bombings that we had in '99. I was there during the bombings for two-and-a-half months. So after that finished, then I went with my father, actually, and my uncle to Germany and I stayed for a couple of months. But then I went back, because I was going to school. So I did not leave for good. I was still living in Serbia and partly in Germany, as well, because I was training there. Niki was my tennis father and Jelena Gencic was my tennis mother. Those two people, Niki still is very influential in my career and in my life, very impactful people that just cared a lot about me, about my family, about my professional private life. I will never forget what they did for me. Jelena is not with us anymore, but she was, you know, probably the most important person in tennis that I ever had. She taught me all the foundations of tennis and all the fundamentals, and I inherited that passion for the game from her and understanding of the game, understanding of holistic approach to sport to life. Niki and his wife accepted me as their own child when I was 12, because my father, my uncle did spend a week or two in Germany, they had to go back. It wasn't easy for them to leave a 12-year-old boy in a different country for another month and a half, but they did that because they felt comfortable and they trusted Niki and his wife. They really took care of me, and that's something that I'll carry forever in my heart. I mean, these people are my family."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2JSZun2
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