Novak Djokovic reveals family inspiration as son fires tennis career off
World No 1 revealed after his victory that his son Stefan was playing his first club tournament and has since confirmed that he was victorious, admitting that Stefan had even inspired his tennis and reminded him of his childlike love for the sport.
Djokovic extended his record of Masters 1000 titles to 38 with his 6-0 7-6(5) win over Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday but admitted that his son Stefan, who had been at his last Master’s win in Paris-Bercy, wasn’t watching his victory because he was busy playing his tournament, where he made it two for two in the Djokovic family by winning the event. The Serb said it felt like a “sunshine double” for the family and admitted that it was the seven-year-old who had inspired him with his approach to tennis.
“Well, the journey started successfully,” he said of Stefan’s first foray into competitive tennis. “My son won the tournament today. I just received that news. Sunshine double today. It’s a very small club tournament. It doesn’t matter. The result is secondary. It was nice to see him playing.”
Novak Djokovic reveals family inspiration as son fires tennis career off
The 20-time Major champion also explained he had never pushed his son into tennis, and instead it was Stefan who fell in love with the sport, something that he was taking as motivation. “I have to remind myself, that I have the privilege to be the father of wonderful kids. 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. You got to be this. You got to be that. You got to be disciplined. Sometimes we take life too seriously. They remind me of that connection, that pure energy.” Djokovic also said he had been speaking about the tournament with Stefan, who was staying up late to practice his swings.
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He said: “Obviously we had a chat last few days about the routines and the things he should do before the match. I was kind of leading him into this world. It was interesting to see how he responds to that. You have to speak in their language about things that I feel like could help him.
“The first official tournament or match always stays in your memory very fondly. I wanted him to enjoy it on the court. Shortly that we spoke, he was on cloud nine with all the family, my parents, my wife’s parents, and everybody there supporting him. It’s nice.
