Novak Djokovic ‘cooking up clones’ as Serbian player Novak Novakovic gets ranked

Novak Djokovic could soon find himself playing against a player with nearly an identical name in the near future as one budding Serbian tennis player continues his rise through the rankings. Novak Novakovic may sound like a name that has been thrown into a random generator when picking out the ‘new Djokovic’, but the youngster is a genuine player and has ambitions of forging a professional tennis career just like his Wimbledon finalist namesake.

Djokovic, who narrowly missed out on securing his 24th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon after a thrilling five-set defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in the final on Sunday, is widely regarded as one of the best male players of all time.

The 36-year-old is a unique athlete in his own right as he manages to sprint around the court at an impressive speed and return most balls that are launched his way. Some would safely predict there will never be another player like him as he heads into the final years of his illustrious career.

But in terms of his name, there is every chance Novakovic can carry on the ‘Novak’ craze in the future. The 22-year-old amateur player, who also hails from Serbia and currently resides in the United States, is continuing his tennis education at South Carolina State University.

Novakovic is gradually making his way up the ATP ladder, having been recently awarded a place on the singles and doubles list for the first time in his career.

As of July 17th 2023, Novakovic is 1,590th in the world for doubles and has dropped five places since he first made it onto the list two weeks ago, when he was ranked at 1,542nd. In the singles list, he is somewhat falling down the charts at 1,857th – a sharp decline from when he was 1,706th on June 17.

The youngster has so far banked prize money so far of £952 ($1,246) through his singles and doubles endeavours combined. That is a drop in the ocean compared to Djokovic, who can cash in his £1.18m cheque just for reaching the final at SW19, and that takes his total career earnings of £131.1m ($172.5m) since turning professional in 2003.

One Reddit user, @Bmuthaf*****Magic, joked that Djokovic is “cooking up clones in the lab,” while @warisverybad predicted Novakovic could be the “incoming winner of the next 65 slams.”