If Serbia’s Olga Danilovic needed any additional inspiration as she prepares for her Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open, re-watching hit Netflix series The Last Dance is probably not a bad place to start.

Quarantine rules mean the 20-year-old is forced to spend 19 hours a day in her hotel room, with Chicago Bulls stars Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman proving influential company in recent days.

“I have watched a lot of Netflix and I mean a lot,” Danilovic told itftennis.com. “I have watched everything: Next in Fashion, The Queen’s Gambit, Lupin…there is not a show I haven’t watched and I have been asking my friends to give me more.

“But I am watching again The Last Dance and it is so good. When you look at some of those stars and how they are working, it makes you want to go on the court right away and work.”

Grafting on court and being inspired by sporting glitterati are practices which Danilovic has become accustomed to in recent weeks after she spent time with 17-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic at his Belgrade academy.

Exposure to world No. 1 Djokovic certainly had the desired effect as earlier this month Danilovic achieved a career first by navigating qualifying to seal her place in the main draw of a Grand Slam. Djokovic has his protégé’s unwavering gratitude.

“When we started, I didn’t really know how much he was going to be there but he was there for me every day on my court, coaching me tennis but also life; not only how to hit a forehand but also mental strength,” said Danilovic.

“We all know he is the best, the toughest guy on earth – not only the Tour – with his ability to be calm on court, and he helped me so much. He is one of a kind and I am so grateful to him. He is an amazing person and not only a mentor but a friend.

“You can talk to him very nicely and be very open and he understands. If anyone can understand, it is him. It has been so nice, there is a video of us playing volleys and it is just so nice to have a person like that next to you.

“I have improved a lot in every aspect. We were working on everything and working on details because you don’t have a lot of time during the season. We were working to improve my game and to be more solid and I think we did a good job.

“This gives me confidence, and when he tells you ‘good job’ or says ‘bravo’, you of course feel good.”

Danilovic, who won her maiden Tour-level title in 2018, was introduced to a new pursuit while at Djokovic’s academy, posting on Instagram a photograph of her and the eight-time Australian Open champion enjoying a Pilates session.

“The picture was from my first time doing it and I was laughing so hard,” added Danilovic. “It is actually really helpful and it is not easy at all. Honestly, I was in shock because I was like, ‘it is going to be easy’ but after I was tight and I was like ‘wow, this is tough’.

“But what I learned from him is everything matters, not only gym but you also need to do other things – everything can help you. Wherever you can improve, you do it.”

Whether or not it is the significance of the marginal gains which Djokovic impressed upon her that stoked her successful qualifying campaign, Danilovic achieved what she set out to.

It was her seventh – and first successful – attempt to reach a Grand Slam main draw through qualifying dating back to 2018 when she defeated a certain Bianca Andreescu in the first round of US Open qualifying, only to lose in the second.

“I have been playing Qualies for quite some time now and I was third round here, second round there,” she said. “I was close a couple of times but it wasn’t enough and I never actually did it, so when I won in Dubai I was so happy.

“This is my first one and whoever plays tennis plays for Grand Slams, to play and compete with the best. The Grand Slams are the biggest shows during the year and I am so happy to be here.”

Appearing at a Grand Slam brings increased focus and attention, although the glare of that particular spotlight is unlikely to faze or distract Danilovic given her backstory and family history.

With her father, Predrag, being a renowned basketball player and regarded as one of the best shooting guards in Europe during the 1990s, Danilovic was in huge media demand from an early age, something which she believes has stood her in good stead.

“I remember my first Junior Grand Slam in Australia when I lost to [Anastasia] Potapova so easily and I was told I have a request for media. I was like, ‘what, somebody wants to talk to me?’ added Danilovic.

“At that point, it is good because I learned how to talk to the media. I think I had as much attention for a first-round match in juniors as a player can get, but for me it was normal.

“I never had a problem talking to the media or talking with a journalist. I like it, I love to talk and be open. I am never like, ‘I don’t want to talk’. It is nice, especially as a junior, because you don’t get that at every tournament and it’s exciting.

“But I have made myself clear that I am a tennis player and not just someone’s daughter. Of course, I am going to get asked questions about my dad, I am completely aware of it and have nothing against that.

“But I now have an image of being a tennis player and people come and ask me about tennis also because of my tennis career and not because of something else.”

It is a tennis career which has seen Danilovic claim six professional titles and hold a career-high ranking within the Top 100 – at No. 96 – in October 2018. She also made her Billie Jean King Cup bow for Serbia that same year, scooping the Heart Award accolade following impressive early showings.

More recent times have been somewhat leaner, with only one ITF World Tennis Tour crown in the last two seasons, while her ranking has slipped to No. 183. Danilovic, however, has re-evaluated and believes everything is geared towards a resurgence.

“Honestly, I feel I’m in a very good place – on and off court,” she said. “We all know I had a very big up but also a bad down. It is normal and every person feels the same way; when you’re down, everything is not in the place you want it to be.

“Sometimes in your career you don’t play at your best and I had that part of my career. It is normal but also you want to come back to where you belong as quickly as you can.

“I feel I am in a really good place and ready to compete every day at the highest level.”