Novak Djokovic’s son leaves John McEnroe gobsmacked with Wimbledon behaviour
Novak Djokovic’s son Stefan was in the crowd at Wimbledon and became the centre of attention late on Monday evening
Novak Djokovic’s son Stefan celebrated wildly(Image: BBC)
Novak Djokovic’s son Stefan captured hearts at Wimbledon during his father’s encounter with Yibing Wu on Centre Court. The 24-time Grand Slam champion was struggling against his Chinese rival late in the third set.
The duo were level at 1-1, 4-4 when Djokovic grew irritated with the partisan crowd shouting “Wuuuuuu”. Those present clearly desired a five-set epic that was already running late into the evening.
Yet Djokovic, as we have witnessed him do countless times previously at SW19, raised his game when he sensed the crowd were opposing him. He secured his serve to claim a 5-4 advantage and placed his finger to his ear in response.
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Meanwhile, in his box, 11-year-old son Stefan, awake well beyond his typical bedtime, celebrated wildly. He began with a fist bump, then swung his arm back and forth in pure delight while yelling.
BBC commentator Andrew Cotter remarked: “[Chuckles] Stefan! Like father like son. Easy Stefan.”
And John McEnroe added: “That is impressive energy. Carlos started that but a lot of guys are following in his footsteps.”
Stefan is a keen tennis player himself and frequently joins the practice courts with his father when they attend tournaments together.
Nevertheless, Novak, 39, is not applying any pressure on his son to pursue his path.
“I’m not forcing him to play tennis. I never did that. Not a single day have I told him you have to do this,” Djokovic has previously explained.
“It’s really purely his own desire to step on the court. Of course, I’ll be thrilled if he plays tennis. He shouldn’t feel any of the pressure or expectations yet, even though he’s going to because it’s part of his family I guess.”
He added: “Obviously we had a chat about the routines and the things he should do. You have to speak in their language about things that I feel like it could help 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.”
