Sure, Novak Djokovic is not at all happy with his early exit from the US Open, but at least now he will be able to spend more time with his wife Jelena.
Photo: Profimedia
Novak and Jelena Djokovic.
His lifelong support is constantly present by his side. Since their high school days together. She remains his stalwart and was in his 3rd round loss at Flushing Meadows.
Nevertheless, she admits the stress of being his partner…
On Friday in New York, Djokovic was defeated by the Australian Alexej Popyrin, who defeated the second seed in four sets (6:4, 6:4, 2:6, 6:4). They met for the third time at this year’s Grand Slams, Djokovic won in the 2nd round of the Australian Open and in the 3rd round of Wimbledon.
Reacting to his shock New York defeat, Djokovic admitted he was physically exhausted from matches on the Olympic courts in Paris in the weeks leading up to the US Open.
He won the Olympic gold medal in the men’s singles and called this feat one of the greatest achievements of his incredible career.
“I spent a lot of energy to win and I came to New York without feeling mentally and physically fresh,” Djokovic admitted to journalists.
Although Djokovic will certainly not be happy with his disappointing performance on the Arthur Ashe Stadium, the Serb will now be able to spend his free time with Jelena, who regularly sits in the stands during his matches, although she clearly does not always enjoy it.
Jelena also supports her husband outside the courts, for example when she wore a T-shirt with the words “I run with my wolf” in the middle of Djokovic’s controversy about the vaccination against Covid-19. The “wolf” reference confused many fans on social media at the time, until Djokovic himself explained what it meant at Wimbledon last year.
The Serbian tennis great nostalgically recalled the moments when he watched wolves as a child. “I saw a few of them when I was a child wandering in the woods and mountains in the places where I grew up. This encounter scared me, but on the other hand, it made me even more connected to the wolves. There is a bond there, I can personally feel it.’
Djokovic lovingly refers to himself as Jelena’s wolf, hinting at the complexity of their life together. “He’s running with the wolf,” the 37-year-old from Belgrade likes to say, and he admits: “Running with the wolf can be very stressful.”
Source: sportweb.pravda.sk
