It’s not just the overbearing pressure of tennis that Novak Djokovic has to deal with, but also of parenthood. The 37-year-old, who reached his 13th Wimbledon semi-final on Wednesday, has brought along his son Stefan and daughter Tara with him to London. And Tara was the subject of Djokovic‘s delight as she was incredibly seen reading a book on unicorns during her father’s match.
This happened during the Serb’s third round match against Australia’s Alexei Popyrin. The 24-time Grand Slam champion was asked a question based on what Tara did in a recent interview with Tennis Channel.
Novak’s back in the semis and feeling healthy
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Djokovic admitted that he was happy for her that she was reading so passionately no matter what the atmosphere was around her.
However, Djokovic was a sport again to take a dig at himself. He claimed that she might have found his style of tennis too boring as compared to reading a book of unicorns, so he felt sad too at the same time.
On a serious note, Djokovic added that he feels exceptionally lucky to have his children travel with him on tours and have them watch his game live from a very young age. He also revealed that he still shares some important responsibilities in raising the kids alongwith with wife Jelena.
Djokovic said that he is in charge of making both Tara and Stefan interested in playing sports and being active and healthy since a young age. But instead of being affected in their presence, the former World No.1 believes that they are a good distraction and keep him energetic and happy.
This is because during tournaments like Grand Slams, where pressure increases on a player having a deep run in the competition, one needs to look for ways to relax. Djokovic now doesn’t prefer spending much time away from his family, despite still being passionate about playing tennis professionally.
Djokovic is a doting father and that helps him shrug off the negativity surrounding him at Wimbledon 2024. He got a walkover to the semifinals after his opponent Alex de Minaur pulled out due to a hip injury.
Interestingly, at last year’s Wimbledon, the superstar had an interesting experience with Stefan, which was adorable and went viral.
Djokovic’s Son Stefan Poked Fun at His Tennis Too
Stefan has often been seen practicing with his father. However, he seems to be as clever as him at such a young age. The now 9-year-old is apparently a huge Rafael Nadal fan and attempted to hit forehands in the Spaniard’s legendary style.
Interestingly, Nadal’s powerful forehand has been a bane for Djokovic whenever the two rivals met over the years. So at the time, Djokovic explained that his son was only trying to annoy him since he believes that Nadal has a better forehand.
Stefan knew that Djokovic gets irritated every time he plays that forehand, because he schools him to not use that technique and follow him instead.
Stefan is set to be in the stands with his sister and mother Jelena again when his father will play Lorenzo Musetti in the second semi-final on Friday.
