Novak Djokovic says his younger brothers must learn to deal with the pressure of being related to the world No. 1. Djokovic's 20-year-old brother, 869th-ranked Marko, received a wild card into Dubai, but fell to Andrey Golubev in straight sets on Monday.
"Obviously he's not at this level yet, but he's getting in there," Novak told reporters. "I think it's a useful experience for him. He's been struggling a lot with injuries. In the end, he has to face this, I guess, pressure in a way for having Djokovic surname. All over the world where he plays tennis, I guess he has to face this pressure that is not necessary for him at this age. It's his burden, and he's very committed. He wants to succeed in tennis. But everybody obviously has a different path. It's hard because the people compare him to me. In all his junior tournaments and all these years that he's been playing tennis he's been compared to me when I was that age. It's absolutely different. So he's trying to fight I think with his mind more than really with the game. So I think as soon as he manages to control his thoughts and, you know, focus on his own career, I think he's going to be good. He has potential obviously, and it's in the blood."
Djokovic's 16-year-old baby brother, Djordje, also plays and trains in Florida.
"They had to face that kind of already five years ago when I [first] became a top-10 player," Novak said. "Obviously they got more attention back in Serbia because they spend most of the time there. So it is something that they're carrying on their backs. They are spending a little bit maybe more time now outside of Serbia, which gives them maybe a little bit more freedom to improve."