Mourning Novak Djokovic fights through hurt Tough, windy conditions and the loss of his first coach made the match hard for Novak Djokovic. "You know, it hasn't been easy, but this is life," Novak Djokovic said while mourning the death of his childhood coach, Jelena Gencic, and simultaneously preparing himself for the backbreaking task of stealing the French Open from Rafael Nadal to claim a historic career grand slam at Roland Garros this week. Life gives you things, takes away close people in your life. We were very close throughout my whole life. She taught me a lot of things that are part of me, part of my character today. I have the nicest memories of her and this is something that will stay with me forever. She was dedicating all her life to the young generation and to tennis. She was 77 years old, and last week she was giving lessons to kids. She's one of the most incredible people I ever knew so it's quite emotional, yes. Djokovic dances with Germany's Tommy Haas on Court Philippe Chatrier tonight for a likely semi-final against Nadal. The hurt is real. "Somebody close passes away, their spirit will always be with you, of course, because it's in your mind," he said. So I know that her spirit will be always with me and always on the tennis court, because this is what she always loved to do. It's her favourite place in the world, and I'll make sure that her legacy continues. I feel even more responsibility now to go all the way in this tournament. I want to do it for her because she was a very special person in my life. I remember the last conversation we had two weeks ago about Roland Garros, and she really never held any words back. She told me, 'Listen, you have to focus. You have to give your attention to this tournament. She was giving me this kind of inspiration and motivation. So now I feel that in her honour, I need to go all the way. It is not only about me. There are so many great players in the tournament. But it gives me that inner strength to push harder. Djokovic was on the canvas against Philipp Kohlschreiber in round four. The hurt made him fight. "Serbs are very emotional people, but we do have also the calm side of our culture and character," he said. She definitely was very composed and complete in every aspect of her life. In her private life, she never showed her weakness. That's something everybody who knew her closely could learn from her. She never showed when she was injured or sick, when she was unhappy. She was always trying to stay positive and smile, and she was transcending that to everybody who was nearby. She was an incredibly intelligent woman. She knew exactly how to recognise the potential of the tennis players between five and 12 years of age. I believe in destiny making her my coach. I believe things happen for a reason, but I think you can control your own destiny. This is also what I believe in. Djokovic will become only the eighth male in 136 years of grand slam tennis to win all four major titles if he lifts the Coupes des Mousquettaires. The hurt might be too much.