Novak Djokovic has had a good start to his campaign for defending his Wimbledon title at SW19. The World No.2 defeated Australia’s Jordan Thompson in straight sets on Wednesday to cruise to the Round of 32, which is set to place on Friday. Djokovic seems to be enjoying himself rather than being burdened by the pressures of winning his 24th Grand Slam and chasing records.
Recently, Novak Djokovic was seen drying the wet grass of the Centre Court with a towel by himself, which was witnessed across the world. The Serbian’s sense of humor about himself and situations makes him a fan favorite apart from his achievements. With no Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at the Championships this year, all eyes are once again on Djokovic to provide the star power it needs.
Novak Djokovic’s biggest source of strength at Wimbledon 2023
The life of a tennis player on the Tour can be hard at times due to the grueling amount of tournaments played across the globe, which involves a lot of travelling as well as dedication towards training. However, Djokovic seems to not have that problem at present since his family is alongside him in London for the Championships. The English capital city is just a 2 hours 15 minutes flight away from France’s Nice, being the closest airport to the city of Monte Carlo where the Serbian currently resides.
To top it all, many are aware of the close bond Novak Djokovic shares with his 8-year-old son, Stefan. Djokovic recently gave his group of staunch admirers what could be called ‘father goals’ by bringing Stefan to practice with him daily. Stefan is already kept on his toes by doing the work of a ball kid and getting involved in group activities with Djokovic’s team, who ensure that he is taken care of at all times.
Novak Djokovic on his son at Wimbledon:
“My son Stefan is 8 & he’s excited about anything that is related to tennis. He asked me last night ‘Daddy, I know you’re leaving early but I want to be with you, from the moment you leave the house, I want to be with you the entire day’ pic.twitter.com/PYthQ2joN5
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 4, 2023
The child seems to be loving the game and his father’s company so much so that his training seems to be headed in the right direction. Djokovic has spoken about his son in several media interactions in the past, crediting him for bringing out the ‘inner child’ in him, which gets him energized on the court. The 23-time Grand Slam champion believes that youthfulness is essential to be motivated since the demands of the professional game make it more serious in nature. He was quoted as saying in an interview with ATP Tour –
“He’s (Stefan) in love with tennis right now. It was fully his own desire to really pursue tennis. So of course I’m going to be there for him. I never force him to be on the tennis court, but if he wants, I try to always make myself ready to be there and play with him.
“He was showing me forehands and backhands, how he’s going to move tomorrow, kind of shadowing, playing shadow tennis. I try to take that energy, childish energy, and fuel my inner child because I tend to forget about my inner child a lot. Everything is so serious. It’s your profession. It’s your job.
“[Saturday] night when I was putting him to bed, he was asking me questions: What is the difference between the racquet head sizes, the strings, why somebody is stringing less tension, all these basic questions that kids are very curious about.”
With no real break from tennis for Djokovic courtesy his son’s enthusiasm, his take on parenting is refreshing as he understands the value of going beyond one sport in childhood. This is something he wishes to inculcate in his son.
“It’s important for me that we have a relationship as a father and son, first of all, primary, before anything else, and that he’s enjoying life, that he’s having fun. He’s trying different sports. Super important. I was growing up with skiing, football, tennis, martial arts, different things. I feel like it’s very important to have, particularly at this young age, a lot of stimulus to the children from different perspectives and different sports and different movement, different activities.
“I don’t like children very early just doing only one sport. I feel like it’s important to try different things because it will help the development of the brain and also motor skills.”
Novak Djokovic wife and coach, who are they?
Novak Djokovic has an incredible team backing him off the court, as he has hired former World No.1 Goran Ivanisevic as his coach. Ivanisevic is renowned for winning the Wimbledon 2001 men’s singles title and is the only player to have achieved this feat after entering the tournament as a wildcard.
On the other hand, Djokovic is extremely well supported by his wife, Jelena who he married in 2013. Jelena Djokovic is a blogger, businesswoman and a philanthropist. The couple have another child as well, Tara who is aged 5 at present.
