Jelena Djokovic rolls her eyes at husband Novak as Wimbledon star reveals his parenting role
NOVAK DJOKOVIC has given an insight into his family life ahead of his Wimbledon semi-final clash with Lorenzo Musetti.
The Serb, 37, is in SW19 with wife Jelena, son Stefan, nine, and daughter Tara, six.
While Djokovic has been in combative mood on the court, having his family around has kept him relaxed and loose on his off days.
The seven-time Wimbledon champion had an unexpected day off yesterday, following Alex de Minaur’s withdrawal due to a hip injury.
During his spare afternoon, Djokovic headed to Tennis Channel‘s on-site studio for an interview.
With Jelena watching on from off camera, Djokovic claimed: “Out of the two parents, I’m the one who is responsible for their activities, sports, healthy lifestyle.”
Having seen his wife’s response, he smiled as he went on: “Exactly – she’s rolling her eyes right now as I’m speaking!
“I keep reminding them of how important it is to be active and do sport, whether it’s tennis, whatever it is.
“There are a lot of families and a lot of children from other players who are coming in so for them it’s also a great experience.
“It’s a great camp! It’s fun because I get to have quality time with them and my wife as well and then they still have friends on the side.”
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Djokovic met childhood sweetheart Jelena during his school days, with the pair getting together in 2005.
They have been married since 2014, and Jelena has often been present for her husband’s biggest on-court moments.
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On Monday night, Djokovic took a pop at the Centre Court crowd – accusing them of “disrespecting” him with their “Ruuune” chants – before wishing them a “gooood night”.
He has since walked out of a BBC interview after being repeatedly questioned about the crowd exchange.
But former Wimbledon bad boy John McEnroe later jumped to Djokovic’s defence while speaking to Clare Balding.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion is set to return to action against Musetti on Centre Court tomorrow.
Ahead of their meeting, the Italian said of Djokovic: “I played him many times in different stages, even big ones like of course two times in French Open. I beat him one time in Monte-Carlo. Then I lost all the others.
“I have to say with Nole, after the match I always finish with a lesson. Of course, the last match was really an intense match from both players and really stressful match.
“Against him you are probably more stressed because he’s probably the best player ever or one of the best players ever.
“You walk on court with a different mentality. I think if I play in a certain way, I could have my shot in the next round.”
Should he beat Musetti, he will then face either Carlos Alcaraz or Daniil Medvedev in the final.
Wimbledon 2024 prize money
PRIZE MONEY for the 2024 Wimbledon Championships is a new record – and puts the grass-court Slam at the top of the tree.
The All England Club will dish out £50million across all the events – an increase of £5.3m and 11.9 per cent on last year, where singles champions Carlos Alcaraz and Marketa Vondrousova picked up £2.35m each.
However, the king and queen of grass this July will collect an extra £350,000 – taking the winner’s earnings to £2.7m.
Here is the breakdown for the 2024 Wimbledon singles prize money:
- Winner: £2.7m
- Runner-up: £1.4m
- Semi-finalists: £715,000
- Quarter-finalists: £375,000
- Fourth round: £226,000
- Third round: £143,000
- Second round: £93,000
- First round: £60,000
- Overall total: £50m