“I almost died.” Bosnian Damir Dzumhur fought for his life and returned to the court stronger: being so close to death in the hospital made him appreciate the game even more after his comeback.
The current world No. 63 suffered from acute pancreatitis three years ago. According to doctors, had he not been in good physical condition, he might not have survived.
“I lost eleven kilos in just a few days. It was a really tough time, but after that, once I was back on court, I started to enjoy tennis even more. I’m happy I got a second chance,” he told CLAY in this interview, published in collaboration with RG Media.
In a candid and honest conversation, Dzumhur also reflects on what it meant to be born and raised during the Bosnian War and names Roger Federer as the most influential tennis player in history.
Interview with Damir Dzumhur
– You were born in the middle of a war, the Bosnian War. How that influenced your character and your fighting spirit?
– Yeah, I guess probably one big part of me, my fighting spirit and the energy on court come from that time, because I was born the 20th of May, a one month and few weeks after the war started in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Sarajevo. The war begun the 6th of April and we had to go four years occupation on my country. Obviously, I was very young to remember it, but I’m pretty much sure that this fighting spirit comes from also fighting that time, not just me but also my family, my parents who were all the time in Sarajevo during the war. I’m sure it affects me in a good way.
– You experienced a tough childhood during the 90’s because of the war. Incredibly, during the 2020’s there are children suffering in Ukraine, in Palestine, in some African nations. Wars and armed conflicts don’t stop. What is your reflection on that?
– I don’t understand why we have wars in today’s time. Why people fight in 2025. I guess there will always be something, there will always be people that don’t want peace, unfortunately. I’m a war kid and I would never wish anybody to go through it. I wish peace to everybody in the world, but I guess sometimes it’s just impossible. My mind cannot understand it.
– What a tennis player can do about it?
– Not only tennis players, but athletes all around the world are trying to share peace and love. With our job we are bringing people together.
– Recently, you went through one of the most difficult moments of your life…
– I was really close to dying..
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– Can you take me through it?
– It was very sudden and it happened all very fast. I was at Roland Garros 2022, where I played Fernando Verdasco in the qualies. Soon after the match I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. It was increasing more and more. And at some point I understood that something was wrong, because it wasn’t a normal pain, it was very strong and rare. After a consultation with the doctor on site, I was feeling even worse and worse and they sent me to a hospital in Paris. I was lucky that they sent me there fast. I had inflammation of pancreas, which was a very hard one. The doctor that saw me told me that I was lucky to be young and in a good shape, because somebody older or weaker could’ve easily died with that kind of inflammation.
–That’s scary.
– It was a tough period, but I overcame it pretty fast. I came back to the tennis court only four months after it happened. I’m so happy that I’m able to have normal life, to be able to play tennis, because at that point I really thought that it was the end of my career
– What precautions did you have to follow after your recovery?
– When I came back to Serbia, when I continued my recovery, doctor told me that I have to be very careful and I have to take care of what I’m eating. He was very sceptical that I would be able to get back on the court soon. So, if was going to be a very long time away from the courts, I didn’t know what was going to happen. I lost eleven kilos in just few days. For my height that’s a lot! I’m normally in 66 or 67 kilos, I had only 55 at that point. It was a difficult time, but I think after that, when I started playing tennis again, I was enjoying tennis much more. When I look back, I feel happy that I got a second chance.
–How was the support from the tennis world?
– I had a big support from my colleagues, but the most important support was the people around me, people that were always close to me, the family, the friends as well. People that stand by me both in the easy and the difficult times.
–On another topic, I want to ask you about Novak Djokovic and the influence he’s having towards tennis in Bosnia.
– He influences tennis in the whole world, but especially in our countries. We have so many good players, specially in Serbia and Croatia. Now Bosnia and Herzegovina has me, Mirza Bašić was top 80 not so long ago, we had Tomislav Brkić that was top 50 in doubles, another of my friends in Davis Cup, Nerman Fatic, that was top 200. For this kind of countries, very small countries that were going through war and tough situations, I think it’s a big achievement and a big result to have Novak Djokovic as one of us. Someone who won 24 Grand Slams and was number one for 7 years came from small country and pushed up all the tennis players from the Balkans. He proved that if you really work hard, push hard, you can do it even if you come from a country without great facilities.
–Is the GOAT debate still alive after Novak Djokovic won everything and broke almost all the records? Some say Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal still have a bigger influence — and that this makes them greater.
– Well, if you ask me, my tennis idol was Roger Federer, I cannot say that it’s not like that. His way of playing, his style, and of course his influence on and off the court were huge. Probably the biggest influence in tennis is Roger. As an individual sport, is easy to choose a GOAT in tennis, because you just have to see the results, and that’s Novak Djokovic. If you look to other sports, team sports like basketball or football, numbers are relative, as some great players are not always in the best teams. Novak has the most Grand Slams and so many other records. The GOAT is definetly him; in my opinion, the biggest influence on me and probably for many people is Federer.
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