Djokovic says his son’s passion for tennis is one of the reasons he continues playing

Novak Djokovic, now aged 35, has said on French radio RMC that his son Stefan gives him a daily push on his quest for greatness.

Novak Djokovic with son Stefan Djokovic at the Miami Open in 2019 Image Credit: Zuma / Panoramic

Cédric Rouquette

November 1, 2022

Never, not even once, has Novak Djokovic opened the door to the idea that he might retire soon from tennis or that he felt close to the end of his greatness.

But even the 21-time Grand Slam winner admitted that he needed to find renewed sources of motivation to continue and he says he has found that in his son Stefan, who is equally passionate about the sport.

“My son Stefan’s passion is a new source of motivation for me,” he said, natively in French, in the show hosted by Marion Bartoli on the French radio station RMC. “He plays every day, he asks me questions on how tennis works, he’s very interested in every aspect. Obviously, it’s something I did not have at the early stage of my career. Every day, I’m looking for things able to give me a push to continue.”

“So it’s also interesting to feel or to hear what he says”, Djokovic added in a press conference the day after. “When he’s watching a match, it’s very special. But I don’t put him under pressure. I don’t put expectations on him. For me it’s important for him to see tennis as a game, a sport that can help him develop physically, mentally, etcetera.”

Djokovic : “A very special moment of tennis history”

Earlier in the interview, Djokovic said his “passion for the game” as the number one reason and “winning the biggest trophies” as the reason number reason for his desire to continue. “I live in a very special moment of tennis history, maybe the greatest, and I feel incredibly honoured to be in a situation to write the history of our sport.”

While discussing the retirement of fellow GOAT-contender Roger Federer’s retirement, the Serb also said that “a big rivalry was still running” between him and 22-times Slam winner, Rafael Nadal, who is 36 years old. “The moment hasn’t come, either for him or for me.”

Djokovic started his campaign at the Rolex Paris Masters on Tuesday afternoon against American serve-and-volley specialist Maxime Cressy (7-6, 6-4).

You might also like this