"My father has his wife unconscious; total panic" - Novak Djokovic recalls traumatic childhood memory of his mother's injury during air raid in Serbia

Novak Djokovic has recounted a deeply distressing experience from his childhood in war-torn Serbia, an ordeal that left his mother unconscious. The 37-year-old also reflected on how enduring such hardships strengthened their bond as a family.

Djokovic has been open about growing up amid NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War, revealing the devastating impact the conflict had on him and his family. The Serb has previously shared that, as a seven-year-old, he found solace in dreaming of competing at and winning Wimbledon, using it as a mental escape from the atrocities.

In a recent interview with La Nacion, Novak Djokovic shed light on the "horror" of living with the constant fear of the unknown amid the war, as sirens would go off every night to signal approaching bombs.

"It’s a horror. The worst thing anyone can experience. It’s the fear of the unknown. Not knowing if the next bomb is going to hit your head. And so it was every day, the alarms, the sirens that woke us up every night when the planes were approaching."

The 24-time Grand Slam champion recounted a particularly harrowing night in 1999 when, in a frantic rush to seek shelter in the basement, his mother Dijana struck her head on a heater and lost consciousness.

The Serb, who was only 12 years old at the time, recalled how his younger brothers were in tears amid the "total panic" as their father Srdjan attempted to take care of his injured wife.

"I remember my mother one night… because you’re sleeping and in the middle of the night you wake up because you hear the siren and you have to grab a bag and go down to the basement of the building to try to take shelter,"

He added:

"The first time it happened, my mother got up in the dark, because we all slept together, we didn’t know what was going to happen and we cried every night. And she hit her head against the heater and was knocked unconscious. So it’s 3 in the morning and my father has his wife unconscious. I was 12 years old, and my younger brothers, 8 and 4, were crying. There was total panic."

Despite the trauma of these experiences, Djokovic recognized them as a "very important part" of his personal growth, while clarifying that he wouldn't wish such suffering on anyone as a means of developing mental strength.

"But it’s an experience that strengthened us as a family, as people. And I say it again: I don’t wish it on anyone. I want to make it very clear: I don’t think anyone should suffer through war to develop mental strength, there are other ways to do it. But for me it was a very important part of my development and as a small child I was forced to grow up," Djokovic said.

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Novak Djokovic reflects on the 'terrible feeling' of living through war: "I had to take responsibility and share my father’s role"

During the same interview, Novak Djokovic opened up about having to share his father's role as the head of the household and take care of his younger brothers amid the turmoil. The Serb emphasized the profound terror of war, revealing that the disturbing memories of his compatriots screaming and panicking still gave him chills.

"I had to take responsibility and share my father’s role, because I was the eldest son and there was no time. My father spoke to me as an adult: 'You have to do this, take your brothers there, go here."

"It was war. Everyone is panicking, lost, everyone is screaming, everyone is afraid. Just remembering it gives me chills and gives me goosebumps, it’s a terrible feeling."

Djokovic also recounted a haunting memory from his 12th birthday, when he witnessed a military plane flying overhead while he was at the tennis club. The World No. 4 admitted that the worst feeling was the fear that came with the realization that he had "no control" over the situation.

"I remember the day I turned 12 and I saw a plane in broad daylight. I was at the tennis club and the alarms started going off. You hear them and suddenly you see the plane firing rockets over a military base or also over hospitals, schools and bridges."

"And then you think: "What can I do?" You can’t do anything. And that’s the worst feeling, fear. You have no control, you have no power. There is a stronger power that can destroy you at any moment."

Novak Djokovic's experiences of living through war have followed him into adulthood. Earlier this year, the 37-year-old disclosed that his "trauma" manifested in him imagining bombs going off whenever he heard fireworks.