Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in Winter, on Prime Video

Can Novak Djokovic win an unprecedented 25^th title? That question remains unanswered during this documentary. However, it will fully and forthrightly cover the “scandal” non-tennis fans associate with the champion. It is safe to say he has had significant luck in Australia, both good and bad. However, his fortunes in Queens, Wimbledon, and Paris have largely been terrific. As the tennis world speculates regarding his retirement, the champ takes stock of his career in Jason Hehir’s documentary, Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in Winter, which premieres today on Prime Video.

Djokovic was not exactly a rags-to-riches story, but his middle-class Serbian family sacrificed much for his tennis career. It wasn’t easy growing up amid the chaos of the 1990s Former Yugoslav Wars either. However, Hehir does an absolutely abominable job contextualizing this period—to the point of outright documentary malpractice. Survivors of the era suggest NATO woke up and decided to bomb Serbia—a specious premise Hehir lets stand. If that were true, why did Slobodan Milosevic, the Serbian president during the War, face charges of war crimes and genocide (only to cheat justice by dying before his trial at the Hague could conclude)?

Of course, this is a sports documentary, so Hehir fortunately better serves viewers when focusing on tennis. Djokovic is quite an asset as a subject, because he is known for his rigorous self-analysis of his own game. Hehir also interviews many top former players including Nadal, Andre Agassi, and Pete Sampras (the latter being quite notable, because he has been little seen since his retirement).

Viewers who follow the sport will remember when Djokovic broke into the top-rankings many fans resented him as a party-crasher, denying the championship match-ups between Rafa Nadal and Roger Federrer, which they eagerly anticipated. Being a canny competitor, Djokovic used that negative energy, like a wrestling villain. Yet, now that he is an “elder statesman” on tour, a position both he and fans still find themselves coming to terms with.

So, about Australia. Djokovic won the Australian Open tens times, but not in 2022. Though unvaccinated, he entered Australia with an exemption, recognized through a blind process, by both the tennis association and the Australian government. At the time, Djokovic was exempt, because he had had COVID-19 within six months. Hehir never explains, but it is important to understand taking the vaccine to enter Australia when he already had antibodies in his system could have dangerously overloaded his immune system. However, when his unvaccinated status became public, the Australian authorities quarantined and deported Djokovic, to make an example. Another smashing success for COVID-era “science.”

This is probably the section of Hehir’s documentary many viewers will be most interested in and it duly addresses the related issues with the rigor and balance they deserve. Djokovic takes some responsibility for communication mistakes, but rightly insists he played by the rules, pointing out he was not the only player or coach granted such an exemption.

Perhaps fittingly, Hehir ends on a high note, but he leaves the last three years of Djokovic’s career untouched and unremarked upon. Yet, these are truly the “Wolf in Winter” years. The crafty “old” champion can still reliably make the semi-finals of major tournaments, but he has yet to successfully play through both Carlos Alcarez and Jannik Sinner to win a major title. Djokovic has his “Golden Slam,” but will 25 prove illusive? Maybe a sequel will tell. Regardless, Hehir’s film ought to put at least one controversy to bed, even though the film’s grasp of Balkan history is borderline-disgraceful. Recommended for the sports coverage, especially his “lost” Open, Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in Winter starts streaming today (8/20) on Prime Video.