E-Paper
Sign In
iPhone | iPad
Android
Tue, Oct 08, 2024 | Rabī‘ ath-thānī 5, 1446 | DXB 
°C
Novak Djokovic eyes more Slams
World No.1 feels added family responsibilities can give fresh impetus to his illustrious career
- Alex Leach
- Updated: Tue 12 Dec 2023, 3:52 PM
Novak Djokovic addresses the media during the round table conference in Dubai on Sunday. — KT photos by Rahul Gajjar
Dubai — Novak Djokovic believes the new responsibilities of family life can give fresh impetus to his illustrious career as he eyes yet more Grand Slam glory in the future.
Recommended For You
The 27-year-old Serbian and his wife Jelena became parents to their baby boy Stefan last October and, just three months later, Djokovic clinched his eighth major title — and first as a father — at the Australian Open.
Djokovic knows of a few people who have successfully juggled such commitments in their personal and professional lives too, with his German coach Boris Becker and 17-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer acting as prime examples at present.
“I’m very grateful to be where I am at this point in my life,” the reigning Wimbledon champion admitted.
“Now, as a father, it’s a new chapter in my life and a new opportunity for me to play in front of my son one day. “That’s one of the motivations I have. I constantly try to find new sources of motivation because it’s a very mental game at the end of the day.
“The bottom line is that it’s really the psychological aspect that brings you to where you want to be; it’s not just you mindset on the court, but everything you do off of it. “I try to have a holistic approach to everything I do. Every day is a learning process for me, so I’m very grateful to have the team around me that are kind enough to sacrifice their own lives, dedicate them to my career and allow me to shine on the court.”
Foremost in that inner circle is — of course — Becker, who has had similar life experiences to Djokovic and that has seen their working relationship flourish in the last six months or so. “He’s contributed a lot from psychological point of view, mostly because he has been in these situations before,” Djokovic said.
“He understands what I go through; the challenges I need to face and the obstacles I need to overcome to win big titles and be the number one in the world.
“We’ve had very similar career paths. He became a father when he was 26, so we’ve talked a lot about that part and how that influences your tennis career and how you can organise your life in order to get the flow moving. “That (fatherhood) obviously gave him new energy and motivation and he tried to use that not as a distraction or a negative, but as a source of happiness and something to give him a second wind so he could go out there and be even better on the court.
“We still want to achieve a lot. We feel like it’s only the beginning and we’ve now won two Grand Slams together, made the finals of Roland Garros and had a lot of good success. But, of course, there are always high expectations for him and myself.”
Federer is equally as applicable in this instance as well, with Djokovic adding: “We’re talking about one baby and he has four.
“Roger is the best example of how you can be a father and still keep playing at that high level.”
alex@khaleejtimes.com
Sign Up For Breaking News Alerts
Be in the know. Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.
