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‘A help, and not a hindrance’

Marko made his singles debut at the men’s event of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Monday afternoon, when he lost in straight sets (6-3, 6-2) to Kazakh qualifier Andrey Golubev on Centre Court.

His previous appearance in the emirate occurred last year alongside his world number one brother as wildcards in the men’s doubles, where they lost to Indian duo Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes 6-4, 6-1 in the initial round of 16.

Marko, who – at 20 – is four years younger than 24-year-old Novak and 868 places beneath him in the singles standings, appears set to always be likened to Novak as he bids to make his own name in the global game.

However, while that comparison may come with obvious drawbacks, there are some clear plusses from having such a prominent figure in the sport within the family.

“To have a brother like that is a privilege,” Marko enthused. “He’s helping me a lot with all of his advice.

“He knows a lot about tennis and he’s trying to push me to improve and not make the mistakes that he made at this stage of his life. We cannot compare – he was already number three (in the world) at 20 years of age.

“But still, in terms of life experience everything, he’s helping me a lot. We have a really good relationship.

“We have one younger brother (Djordje), who is also playing tennis. He’s 16 years old, so we’re all pushing each other to go further.

“There have been a lot of positive and negative things with being his (Novak’s) brother. It’s a lot positive. Financially, I have all of one needs; I can get all of the coaches and all of the practice.

“But, in terms of negative things, there is a lot of pressure. Everybody expects you to be as good as your brother, which is really tough to achieve. But, I’m trying and doing my best.