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Viktor Troicki says countryman Novak Djokovic is the most famous person in Serbia, in an interview to the Indian sports magazine Sportstar. Speaking in Pune soon on Sunday where he is playing the ATP Tata Open, Troicki commented, "Novak has put our nation on the map with all the things he has done for our country.
He is the most famous person in the whole country and the region. People recognise it, kids want to be like him”. Speaking about their younger days, Troicki commented, “We had nothing. There was no help from anyone except our parents who were giving us everything they could.
We had to go outside Serbia to even practise. Abroad, the kids that had everything - coaches, support behind them, the federations; we had nothing. We had to find it all on our own. That made us stronger and believe even more. Many, many, many players didn't make it, but we are the fortunate ones who did.
Now tennis has become very popular in Serbia, probably the most popular [sport] and because of Novak, there are a lot of kids playing tennis. Federation is also supporting more and we have more clubs and more courts to play”.
Djokovic won his record eighth Australian Open title in Melbourne on Sunday coming from two sets to one down to beat Austria's Dominic Thiem in five sets. It was the Serb's 17th Grand Slam singles title, which puts him just three behind Swiss legend Roger Federer, who leads the all time list with 20 Grand Slam titles (Rafael Nadal is at 19 Slams). Djokovic will also move back to the no. 1 spot in the world rankings on Monday.
