When Davis Cup teammates enabled Novak Djokovic to realize his dream
Novak Djokovic is one of the greatest tennis players of all-time, if not the greatest. The Serb has enjoyed a glittering career during which he has won 86 singles titles, including 20 Grand Slams.
Djokovic rose to prominence during the late 2000s when he started to challenge Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's dominance. He won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in 2008.
By the end of 2010, the Serb had won several Masters titles and had performed admirably at the Majors. However, in 2011 his performance levels went through the roof. Djokovic was no longer playing second fiddle to Federer and Nadal - he was now in the same league as the two greats.
Djokovic has been incredibly consistent over the years and a key reason for this is his strong mentality. Even when the chips are down, Djokovic is able to come up with something out of the ordinary.
Take 2017, for example. The Serb was going through a rough patch and decided to take a break from the sport to recover from an elbow injury. He returned to action in 2018 and went on to win Wimbledon and the US Open.
Given Djokovic's consistency and strong mentality, it is hard to believe there was ever a time when he doubted his ability.
But in an interview with the Times of India in 2014, Djokovic revealed that he had doubted himself in 2010 but his Davis Cup teammates helped him realize his dream of being the best player in the world.
"Yes, in 2010 I had started to doubt myself. Whether I was good enough to challenge Federer and Nadal. If I was good enough to be the very best in the world.
"2010 was certainly my make year. My teammates in the Davis Cup helped me a great deal. I realised that I had it in me to push myself to another level, to take the final leap and be the champion that I always aspired to be. I wanted to be the best in the world and 2010 made me realise that dream," Djokovic said.
2010 Davis Cup win was a 'springboard' to the 2011 season: Djokovic
In an interview with Sky Sports last year, Djokovic said that he considered quitting tennis in 2010 following his defeat to Jurgen Melzer in the French Open quarterfinals.
"Against Jurgen Melzer in Roland Garros, during the quarters, this defeat was really difficult for me emotionally," said the Serb. "I cried a lot after this defeat because I had a moment in my life, my career, when everything happened in a fusion in which I really did not see a reason to keep on playing, I wanted to quit tennis."
Djokovic then lost to Tomas Berdych in the semifinals at Wimbledon, after which he joined the Serbian Davis Cup team for their quarterfinal against Croatia. He won both his singles matches against Marin Cilic and Ivan Ljubicic as his nation qualified for the semifinals.
He then reached his second US Open final, where he lost to Rafael Nadal. After this, he helped his nation qualify for the Davis Cup final by beating the Czech Republic.
Serbia went on to win the competition, beating France 3-2 in the final. Djokovic won both his singles matches against Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils before Viktor Troicki sealed victory by defeating Michael Llodra in straight sets.
The 34-year-old said that Serbia's Davis Cup win was a 'springboard' to his immensely successful 2011 season, which is regarded as among the very best in tennis history.
That year, Djokovic won 70 of 76 matches he played, winning every Grand Slam apart from the French Open. He also won five Masters 1000 titles and finished the year as World No.1.
The 2010 Davis Cup was a high-point for Djokovic and Serbian tennis. However, the Balkan nation hasn't been able to win the competition since then. This year, they reached the semifinals but lost 2-1 to Croatia.
The 34-year-old will be keen to inspire Serbia to victory in next year's Davis Cup. While they may not be the favorites to win the competition, Djokovic's presence will be a massive boost for them.