Damir Dzumhur, a fixture within the males’s prime 100 over the previous decade, was born in Sarajevo whereas missiles rained down on the Bosnia-Herzegovina capital in 1992 as the previous Yugoslavia dissolved.
Two days after Dzumhur and his mom had been collected from the maternity ward, the hospital was bombed.
When Dzumhur was sufficiently old to choose up a racquet, there have been only a few courts out there. Most had been bombed.
“My first steps on the court docket had been in a small faculty gymnasium, which was used for soccer and basketball, not tennis,” the world quantity 66 informed BBC Sport.
“They only put the web within the center and that is the place I began taking part in.
“I did not play on a correct arduous court docket till I used to be 12 at a junior event in France.”
Being born in a rustic with out tennis pedigree means there’s often a scarcity of monetary help from their federation and fewer function fashions to comply with into the sport.
Hantuchova believes gamers who’ve come from humble beginnings develop a resilience, self-discipline and mentality that’s “not seen that usually lately”.
“Once I determined I needed to play tennis, I requested my mother and father if – in the future – I may have an opportunity of getting a racquet,” mentioned Hantuchova, who describes her Bratislava upbringing as “easy”.
“I knew I needed to wait till their month-to-month wage allowed them to take action.”
Novak Djokovic, thought of by many as the best participant of all time after profitable 24 main titles, has blazed a path for Serbia.
As a baby, Djokovic was pressured to take shelter in Belgrade as Nato bombed the Serbian capital between March and June 1999.
“My upbringing throughout a number of wars within the 90s was a troublesome time,” the 38-year-old mentioned in 2020.
“We needed to wait in line for bread, milk, water, some staple items in life. That most likely has been my basis, the actual fact I got here from actually nothing.”
