Watch: Video of Novak Djokovic playing tennis as a 4-year-old goes viral
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is well-known for having one of the best backhands in the sport, if not the best. But his forehand is no less potent - as was evident from a very young age.
In a video that is almost three decades old, a four-year-old Novak Djokovic is seen sporting a technically correct forehand grip and unleashing a decent shot for a kid of his age.
The video, dated some time in 1991, is one of the earliest clips of Novak Djokovic wielding a tennis racquet. Not surprisingly, it has now gone viral on Twitter - eliciting comments ranging from 'He was so cute!' to 'Look at how good those groundstrokes were even back then.'
The footage is from roughly the time around which Novak Djokovic had just taken up tennis. Born in 1987 in erstwhile Yugoslavia, Djokovic was spotted by former player Jelena Gencic when he was just seven years old.
Gencic took the young Novak Djokovic under her wing, and laid in him the foundations of shot-making discipline and economical movement. That is still evident in the way he hits his measured groundstrokes today; Djokovic rarely overhits, and uses his body efficiently to turn and strike the ball.
The late Gencic conducted numerous repetitive drills with Novak Djokovic. She taught her young ward the importance of varying the pace on the ball, and also the focus needed to be a world beater.
Novak Djokovic acknowledged the role of Gencic in his development when he remarked after one of his Grand Slam title runs:
"She set the standards for me. She gave me an idea of what it was going to take to be the very best."
What did the young Novak Djokovic like most in tennis?
In another video of the young Novak Djokovic, he was asked what he liked the most in the sport. The Serb replied:
"The most I love in tennis is forehand, backhand and volley. With them I win the most."
The young Serb went on to say that he played tennis at night as he was occupied with school and studies throughout the day.
"I play at night because during the day I have school and training in the afternoon. After I am done with my homework, I play (tennis)."
The video concluded with Djokovic revealing his ultimate tennis objective:
"Tennis for me is an obligation. My goal in tennis is to be the champion."
The words turned out to be prophetic.
Novak Djokovic has turned out into one of the greatest players to have ever played tennis. His tally of 17 Grand Slams is the third highest in history, after Roger Federer's 20 and Rafael Nadal's 19.
The 33-year-old Serb, who turned pro 17 summers ago, is the only player in the Open Era apart from Rod Laver to hold all four Grand Slams simultaneously. His 2016 Roland Garros triumph over Andy Murray was Novak Djokovic's fourth consecutive Grand Slam title, making him only the fifth player in the Open Era to win the career Grand Slam.
Novak Djokovic is the only player to have won the career Golden Masters - the feat of winning all nine Masters 1000 tournaments during the course of one's career.