"I've watched Michael Jordan's The Last Dance, perhaps we can do something like that" - Novak Djokovic reveals new timeline for tell-all documentary

Novak Djokovic has given the public a new timeline for his tell-all documentary that has been in the works since January 2021.

The idea of a documentary was first presented at the 2021 Australian Open, where Djokovic suffered an abdomen tear in the third round against Taylor Fritz. The Serb ended up winning that match 7-6(1), 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2 and eventually, the entire tournament. But shadows were cast by the public, and even some of his colleagues, about the severity of his injury.

That was reportedly one of the biggest reasons Novak Djokovic wanted to go through with the documentary, but the air date has been getting pushed back since early 2022.

Djokovic was once again asked about it by his country's press after his first-round win at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships on Monday.

"I was convinced that the documentary would be published by the end of 2021 or in 2022. It keeps getting moved for a simple reason, though, as a lot is going on in my career, so we're trying to come up with the best possible plan on how to present it. Whether it's a documentary film or a series, we have to decide who will be our partner on the project as well," Djokovic told Serbian reporters at SW19.

The 23-time Grand Slam winner is not entertaining the idea of dropping the project and remains confident that his team will eventually go through with it.

"Now we're adding some more material because of Paris (French Open title). I don't have the exact date, I’m a bit anxious to see it too, I would love to have it as soon as possible. On the other hand, we want to do the best job possible," Djokovic added.

There still isn't a set format for the documentary, with Djokovic still not fully clear about what the theme will be.

"I've watched (Michael) Jordan's 'The Last Dance', 10 episodes with each episode lasting 50 minutes... We've been shooting for years, and there is a lot of material, so perhaps we can do something along those lines. When I have more precise information about the date of release, I will let you know," Novak Djokovic concluded.

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Novak Djokovic comments on Serbian Open losing its license

Novak Djokovic at his Tennis Center in Belgrade

Novak Djokovic also talked about the Serbian Open losing its license from 2024, after successfully holding the tournament for the last three years.

The Serbia Open was held in 2021 and 2022 in Belgrade, and then in Banja Luka in 2023, as an ATP 250 tournament. The event director was Novak's brother, Djordje Djokovic.

Unfortunately for Serbia and the Djokovic family, the licence the tournament was using was being rented from Ion Tiriac. The Romanian businessman and former professional tennis player now wants to return the tournament to Bucharest.

"For the last four or five months, my brother (Djordje) has been in touch with the ATP and the owners of some tournament's licenses, trying to come up with a solution for 2024, but there is no feedback for now," Djokovic told Serbian reporters at Wimbledon 2023.

Djokovic pointed out that it's not easy to get into the ATP calendar, as new licences are rarely given out and the existing ones are extremely hard to obtain.

"As I said earlier, it's not that simple because the ATP is not giving out new licenses, and most existing tournaments are profitable, so the owners understandably don't want to give that up. On the other hand, there are a few tournaments that are not that profitable, the ones that are struggling organizationally and economically... I won't name them, of course, but we are in dialogue with them."

The Serbia Open was first held in 2009, with Djokovic winning the title. It was cancelled in 2012, and then revived in 2021.

The champion of the 2023 edition was Dusan Lajovic, who beat Novak Djokovic and Andrey Rublev, among others, on his way to the throne.

Novak Djokovic wants to see Serbia hosting an ATP tournament, but admitted the future is up in the air presently.

"We would love to establish a tradition of a tennis tournament in Serbia. At this point, 250 tournament is most realistic, anything above that would be biting more than we can chew. There are going to be a lot of changes in the ATP calendar starting in 2025, so we'll see," Djokovic concluded.