© Getty Images Sport – Fran Santiago
Canadian Billie Jean King Cup sensation Marina Stakusic reveals she grew up idolizing Novak Djokovic and once even got the Serb’s rackets as a little girl after the world No 1 threw them her way. Stakusic, who was born in Canada and is now 19 years old, has Balkan roots as her father comes from Montenegro while her mother is Serbian although she was also born in Canada.
When Stakusic was five, she got her first tennis racket from Walmart and the following year she started taking tennis lessons. When Stakusic also started following tennis, it didn’t take long before she fell in love with Djokovic’s tennis.
“I definitely was watching. My idol is Novak Djokovic. Shocking, right? I always watched him growing up. Every Grand Slam final, we would gather and have a viewing party,” Stakusic told the WTA website.
Stakusic on Djokovic throwing her his two rackets
In 2012, Djokovic won the Toronto Masters after beating Richard Gasquet in the final.
After the final, Djokovic spotted the Stakusic family in the stands and threw them two of his rackets. “I think when I was around 5 or 6, we went to the National Bank Open in Toronto and we watched him. When I was 7 or…
