Novak Djokovic thanks fans for their wishes on his 36th birthday

Novak Djokovic celebrated his birthday on Monday, May 22, and received warm greetings from fellow tennis players, veterans, experts, and fans from all around the world. The overwhelmed icon, who turned 36, appreciated his well-wishers and thanked them.

The Serb turned pro in 2003 and 20 years later, he is one Grand Slam title away from becoming the record-holder among the men. Currently tied with Rafael Nadal at 22 Majors, the new World No. 3 will enter the 2023 French Open as the favorite to go all the way and lift his third title in Paris, especially after Nadal announced his withdrawal due to an injury.

On his birthday, the ATPTour shared a video, showing some of Djokovic's best moments from his glorious career. A few clips of him dancing were included as well. The iconic player shared the tribute on his social media and thanked the ATP and everyone who wished him.

"Thank you for all of the birthday wishes," he wrote on Instagram.

He wrote on his Instagram stories

Thirty-six might seem like a huge number in terms of a tennis player's age. However, unlike his biggest rivals Roger Federer and Nadal, Djokovic's fitness is not an issue as he rarely struggles with injuries, and is expected to play at his best for many more years.

He won his maiden Grand Slam title at the 2008 Australian Open when he beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final and broke Federer and Nadal's combined streak of 11 Majors. However, he made certain changes to his lifestyle, went completely gluten-free, and transformed into a different tennis player in 2011, the year he won three Majors.

At the end of 2010, while Federer and Nadal had 16 and nine Grand Slam titles to their names respectively, the Serb had only one. Since then, the youngest of the Big 3 has won 21 Majors while Nadal (13) and Federer (4) could collectively rack up only 17.

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"Novak Djokovic has been screwed the last couple of years" - Tennis legend

The Serb at the 2023 Italian Open

Speaking on the Advantage Connors podcast recently, Jimmy Connors recently stated that he was hoping for Novak Djokovic to win many more titles since the player was unfairly banned from numerous tournaments over the last year and a half.

"I'm rooting for Djoker and here's why. I think he's been screwed the last couple of years, big time," Connors said. "I'm rooting for him to come through, he's already proven what he is, he's got 22 Grand Slams. He's already proven how great he is and all that, but he has been kept from even extending that legacy."

Since he was deported from Australia in January 2022 due to his stance on COVID-19 vaccines, the Serb missed out on two Grand Slam events and four Masters 1000 tournaments.