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Wannabe posterboy of world tennis, Darko Grncarov is an imposter

Not since Alexander, had a Macedonian managed to accrue such worldwide fame. Then came Darko — the infamous.

The revelation of Grncarov’s false career has made him a major talking point on the very platform where he built his career.

‘If it’s on the internet, it must be true.’ That was Darko Grncarov’s mantra as he used the world wide web to sell the false idea of him being a big tennis-star in the making. Armed with a coveted ‘blue tick’ that verified his now deactivated Twitter account, the 20-year-old Macedonian created enough noise online to sell that idea and fool the media and the big names of the tennis community.

In what is a sign of times, many couldn’t resist his sob story, amplifying it on social media, as some of the top names of tennis were quick to lap it up, and fuel the absurd legend. Darko had a fantastic — even if part concocted — back-story. A stroke, he led people to believe, put him in a six-month coma, but could not do enough to stop him from playing again. It earned him the attention of former world no. 4 James Blake, who tweeted: “I hope to be commentating on plenty of big matches of yours.”

He praised the Williams Sisters to the point that Serena followed him and sent him direct messages, according to Slate.com. He later called surprise Australian Open quarterfinalist Tennys Sandgren an ‘idiot’ for pro-right tweets the American journeyman had posted in 2015, endearing himself to woke Twitter. On January 15, he was invited to feature on BBC Radio Five for a nine-minute interview in which he asserted that he would refuse to play on Margaret Court Arena at the Australian Open because of the legendary player’s homophobic ideas — earning the attention of 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova.

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“If the name (Margaret Court Arena) is still there, I’m not going to play. Even if it means I’m never going to be playing the tournament. I don’t care.” he said.

It helped that Grncarov came from Macedonia, a country that has nefariously gained a repute for allegedly promoting false news. A website from his hometown Strumica proclaimed Grncarov’s success at a junior tournament in the Netherlands in December 2014 – an event that never took place. In fact, the only junior ITF registered competition he played was at the 2015 Podgorica Open in Montenegro. Playing in the first round of the qualifiers, he lost 6-0, 6-0 to Nikola Vukotic. “(The) result can tell you everything,” Vukotic told Slate Magazine.

Festive offer

Still his stock rose in his homeland. There were success stories written about him in Macedonia — a country with no tradition of elite tennis success, relating to how he dominated at an ITF event in Egypt. When contacted, ITF Communications told The Indian Express: “No organisation including the ITF is in a position to monitor all media reports on tennis. The ITF will monitor media reports on its own events and activities.”

To be fair, Grncarov was scheduled to play in the qualifiers of the Sharm El Sheikh Futures event, but never showed up. Till date, the walk-over he gave Zimbabwe’s Mark Fynn is his only registered international match.

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That didn’t stop him however, from listing out a series of tournaments that wanted to grant him wild cards owing to his stroke and coma. The list includes the likes of the Miami Masters and the French Open Grand Slam.

Meanwhile, through his social media accounts, he’d post pictures and videos of him training, none though where his face was visible. As it turned out, the images were actually of 17-year-old Spaniard Cameron Henricy Trigolos.

The posts though, were all ‘praised’ and supported by over 200 followers whose purpose, it seems was to promote everything Grncarov would put up. It created enough noise for the Macedonian to help ‘verify’ his Twitter handle, the ideal symbol of online credibility and his legend grew.

Even sporting goods giants Adidas tweeted, “Welcome to the family” after claims that he announced the sports major had offered him sponsorship. The post has subsequently been deleted and the company has made it clear that they never sponsored the player.

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Crucially, the non-Macedonian media did not run any checks before highlighting his achievements or his ‘tragic’ medical conditions. “You just need to write his name on ITF and you have everything,” Macedonian player Besir Duruguti told Slate.

The revelation of Grncarov’s false career has made him a major talking point on the very platform where he built his career. A particular post — “Sir Isaac Newton was only 23 when he discovered the law of gravity” was replied to with “Darko Grncarov was only 19 when he trolled tennis twitter.”

Grncarov’s deactivated his account soon after Slate broke the story, although he allegedly keeps switching back on and off. The secret has finally unraveled — leaving behind a long trail of international journalists and tennis aces looking conned and gullible. Funnily enough, the quote, “If it’s on the internet, it must be true,” is credited to Abraham Lincoln. Not since Alexander, had a Macedonian managed to accrue such worldwide fame. Then came Darko — the infamous.

First uploaded on: 16-02-2018 at 04:47 IST
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