‘My son jumped around every time Rafael Nadal won a point,’ admits Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic admitted his family had vested interests when watching the Australian Open final, with wife Jelena supporting Daniil Medvedev whilst son Stefan was ‘jumping around’whenever Rafael Nadal won a point.
20-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic was denied participation at the Australian Open last month after he was deported just one day prior to the tournament getting underway.
The World number one travelled Down Under with a medical exemption but it was deemed invalid and was terminated.
Whilst he fought the decision in court and had his visa reinstated, Immigration Minister Alex Hawke took the executive decision to cancel the visa one final time.
During the legal proceedings it was revealed that Djokovic was unvaccinated against Covid-19, although this wasn’t the primary reason for his deportation. He was deported due to fears he would spark anti-vaccination sentiment if he was permitted to play vaccine-free.
As a result of Djokovic’s absence, Slam rival Nadal was able to storm to the final to set up an encounter with US Open Daniil Medvedev, who was vying to overtake Djokovic as World number one.
Medvedev breezed into a commanding two set lead and was just a few games away from taking Djokovic’s World number one spot. However, Nadal remarkably battled back to win a 21st Slam title, pipping Djokovic to such a feat.
When asked about the Australian Open final in an interview with the BBC, Djokovic said “I found it so difficult to watch.
“I was very neutral, I didn’t cheer for anyone because I wanted to be there so badly. But I was amused by the circumstances.
“My wife was cheering for Medvedev, my son was cheering for Nadal and every point that Rafa would make, Stefan would be jumping around.
The interview touched on a wide range of topics, but the Serbian also shared a humorous conversation he had with his son Stefan earlier this week.
Djokovic said: “He (Stefan) asked me a few days ago when I was putting him to sleep: ‘When is the next tournament that you are going to participate and play where Rafa is going to be also?’
“I said: ‘I’m not sure, I hope very soon, why are you asking me that?'”
To which Djokovic Jr. replied “because I would really love to take a photo with Rafa!”
“We’ll arrange that, I’m sure,” Djokovic jokingly ended.
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