His autobiography Serve To Win is full of “new age jibber-jabber” as The Telegraph’s longstanding tennis correspondent Simon Briggs puts it, with chapter headings such as “How Opening My Mind Changed My Body”.
Science sceptic Novak Djokovic in his own words.
“You have this thing called telepathy, right? Or this thing called telekinesis, or instinct, intuition. I feel like [these] are the gifts from this higher order, the source, the god, whatever, that allows us to understand the higher power and higher order in ourselves.”
Dec 2018, from interview with Shortlist magazine to promote movie entitled Transcendence – Live Life Beyond The Ordinary
“I’ve seen people that … through the power of prayer, of gratitude, they managed to turn the most toxic food or most polluted food into the most healing water. Scientists have proven that molecules of water react to our emotions.”
May 2020, from Instagram Live chat with “guru” Chervin Jafarieh
"Personally, I am opposed to vaccination. I wouldn't want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine in order to be able to travel. If it becomes compulsory, what will happen? I will have to make a decision. I have my own thoughts about the matter, and whether those thoughts will change at some point, I don't know."
April 2020, From Facebook Live chat with fellow Serbian athletes“Most doctors who study one realm of Western medicine don’t take time to familiarise themselves with alternative therapies … Progress happens only if you are open minded and open hearted. If you’re not, then you can be easily manipulated.”
Aug 2013, from Serve To Win: The 14-Day Gluten-Free Plan For Physical And Mental Excellence, by Novak Djokovic“The first thing I do out of bed is to drink a tall glass of room-temperature water … When you drink ice water, the body needs to send additional blood to the digestive system in order to heat the water to 98.6 degrees.
“The second thing I do … I eat two spoonfuls of honey. Every day. I try to get manuka honey, which comes from New Zealand.
“After a little stretching or some light calisthenics, I’m ready for breakfast. Most days I have what I call the Power Bowl, a normal-sized bowl I fill with a mixture of gluten-free muesli or oatmeal, a handful of mixed nuts … some sunflower or pumpkin seeds, fruits on the side … a small scoop of coconut oil … rice milk, almond milk, or coconut water.
“A typical lunch is gluten-free pasta with vegetables … On match days, I have a heavy protein with my lunch … but in general, pasta is all I need.
“During practice, I go through two bottles of an energy drink containing fructose extract … After practice, I have an organic protein shake made from water mixed with rice or pea protein concentrate … and some evaporated cane juice.
“Later, when it’s time for dinner, I eat protein in the form of meat or fish. That usually means steak, chicken, or salmon, as long as it’s organic, grass-fed, free-range, wild, etc … The closer the food is to nature, the more nutritious it is.”
Aug 2013, from Serve To Win: The 14-Day Gluten-Free Plan For Physical And Mental Excellence, by Novak Djokovic
Q: What is the first thing you do in the morning?
Djokovic: "Gratitude and prayer, a couple of long, deep breaths, hugging my wife and running to my children.”
Andy Murray: “I go for a pee.”
April 2020, from Instagram Live chat with Andy Murray