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After beating Stefanos Tsitsipas, 6-0, 7-6 (7/5) in Rome, Novak Djokovic addressed the question of how being a Tennis parent is more mentally challenging than being a tennis player. Djoker talked about how he was observing the routine of his son who won a small club tournament.
He said, “The journey started successfully. My son won the tournament today so I just received the news. It’s a very small club tournament obviously doesn’t really matter. I mean, the result is secondary. It was nice to see him playing and we had a chat the last few days about the routines and the things that he should do before the match, I was kind of leading him into this world and it was interesting to see him respond to that because obviously, you have to speak in their language.
Novak then talked about how he hasn’t pushed his child to play tennis but he himself had the desire to pick up the racquet and play the sport. He said, “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. It’s really purely his own desire to step on the court. Of course, I’ll be thrilled if he plays tennis.”
“If he wants to embark on this journey, I guess I have to embark with him too. He’s only seven. I mean, he’s still a child, so young. He shouldn’t feel any of the pressure or expectations yet, even though he’s going to because it’s part of I guess his family.”
World number one then went on to talk about the tennis-related conversations he has had with his son about forehands, backhands and playing shadow tennis. He said, “He’s doing well so far. He’s really in love with the sport. Last night when I spoke to him, he was up till late. 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,” concluded Djokovic.