Ever since AS Monaco sharpshooter Danilo Andjusic met two-time European champion riflewoman Ivana Maksimovic, he has been smitten.
Danilo Andjusic, Monaco: 'We understand each other'
AS Monaco sharpshooter Danilo Andjusic has been making a name for himself this season, producing some free-scoring performances to help the EuroLeague newcomer from the principality compete with the strongest teams in the continent. But he’s still probably not the most famous member of his own household – and definitely not even the most accurate shooter.
The 30-year-old guard is married to one of Serbia’s most successful female athletes of recent times, Ivana Maksimovic. A two-time European champion rifle shooter and silver medallist at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the popularity and esteem of Maksimovic within her native country is shown by the fact that she was chosen to be the flag bearer for Serbia at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Rewinding the story to the beginning, Andjusic revealed that he had admired his future wife from afar long before they even met and that a chance meeting with a friend was responsible for bringing them together.
“It’s a nice story because one of my best friends is another basketball player, Djordje Drenovac,” he began. “He plays in Hungary now and we have known each other for a long time. We played against each other when we were kids, playing in the same city, so we started hanging out and had good times with each other. I was the best man at his wedding, so he’s really one of my closest friends.
“In 2013 he was competing at the Mediterranean Games. Ivana was also there [she won the gold medal in the 50-meter rifle event] and they were hanging out together. She was already an elite athlete; she had already won the silver medal at the Olympic Games in London and I used to watch her on TV. So as soon as he came back, I asked him: ‘Did you meet her? What does she look like?’ Because she looked nice in pictures! He told me that’s she’s a nice girl, so I said ‘okay, you’ve got to get us to meet one day.’
“A couple of months later we were at the same place and the same time, so Djordje came to me and said, ‘Hey, you know who’s here? Ivana!’ So I was like, ‘Nice! This is the right time to meet her and start talking!’ That’s how it started and the rest is history!”
Andjusic was also already an established professional by then, having played in the EuroLeague with Partizan Belgrade in 2011-12 and 2012-13 as well as winning a domestic league and cup double. So it was only natural that when his developing relationship with Maksimovic became public knowledge, they attracted a lot of attention.
“When we started dating, she was already famous so it was fun and it’s a nice time for us to remember. People always recognized her and we were a new sports couple so it was interesting for people to talk about. People liked to see that it was possible for two professional athletes with their own careers to have a good relationship, so it was fun for everybody.”
And from the very start of their relationship, the two ‘shooters’ discovered that their different but similar professions allowed them to sympathize with their respective pressures and work routines, as Andjusic explained:
“It helps a lot. Although in everything you have good and bad things, and the bad thing is that at the beginning we were separated a lot because she was traveling for her competitions so we didn’t have too much time for ourselves.
“But on the other hand, we understand each other, so she understood when I have a bad game, when I need a rest, or when we need to do something, what to tell me. And the same for me when she has a competition. That really helps when you can have somebody who can understand that, so that’s a really great thing. She’s probably…not probably... she’s for sure my biggest supporter since day one, and I’m trying to be support for her also.”
The couple married in 2015, and the following year they enjoyed a special time together as Maksimovic was elected to lead Serbia’s athletes in the Olympics Opening Ceremony in Brazil. Recalling that summer, Andjusic smiled:
“To carry the flag for your country is a big honor for her and for all our family. When that was happening, the whole world is watching. You’re representing your country, you’re in front of all the great athletes that our country has. That’s something special and even now I have goosebumps when I talk about it.
“At that time I was not in the national team but I went to Rio to watch Ivana and support her, and I’m glad I was there. I went with my brother and her father was also there because he was her coach. It was a huge thing in our lives.”
The marriage has also allowed Andjusic to develop a newfound admiration for the art of sport shooting, as he explained: “I have tried a couple of times and I’ve got to say... it’s really hard! At first, I thought it wasn’t as interesting as basketball or football, or other sports where you have all the movement to watch. They are calmer and preparing for the shots, so it doesn’t look so hard. But when you step on the line and start preparing to shoot, you see first of all how mentally you need to be ready, how to focus, keep your breath and be calm. Also, I was holding her rifle and it’s heavy, even for me! It’s really hard.”
Andjusic and Ivana welcomed their second child last summer so she has taken a break from competing during the early stages of motherhood, but he revealed that she plans to return in the future with an eye on a very special joint ambition:
“She has stopped shooting for a while, but her big wish is to come back and try to take a place at the Paris Olympic Games in 2024. We have the same common goal that maybe we can both go and be a part of our teams at the Olympic Games together. A husband and wife going to the same Olympics to compete in different sports has not happened too often, so it would be really special for us.”