"He likes to intimidate me on the court with finishing the swing here, he knows I don't like that particularly" - Novak Djokovic on his son Stefan developing a Rafael Nadal-like forehand
Apart from Novak Djokovic's often mind-boggling tennis, interactions and practice sessions with his seven-year-old son Stefan have been a regular sight during the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. Interestingly, it appears that Stefan is developing a forehand that holds a great resemblance to that of Rafael Nadal's, something Novak Djokovic himself is not quite fond of.
Nadal's famous whip forehand with the follow-through going over his head has earned him great success over the years. Stefan seems to be hitting the shot quite like his dad's great rival.
Speaking during a recent interview, Djokovic Sr. explained the reason behind his son's choice of forehand style and why he is urging Stefan to change it and play a more traditional forehand. All in all, he is enjoying the fun moments with his son on the court.
“He likes to do that. He likes to intimidate me on the court with finishing the swing here. He knows I don't like that particularly. I'm trying to teach him to finish the hand here, the swing, over the shoulder," Novak Djokovic said on the same.
"He does that, but he does this as well. Whenever he does that he always laughs because he knows. We have these kind of funny moments on the court," he added.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion is trying to spend as much time as he can with Stefan on the court, despite his own packed schedule, as the youngster is showing great interest in all things tennis. The 35-year-old said he was recently asked some intriguing questions on tennis racquets, racquet head sizes, strings, tension, etc. by Stefan.
“I try to use every available opportunity, possibility, time to play with him because he's right now fully immersed into tennis. Everything around tennis, how he can play, he's watching, he's analysing. We're talking," the Serb continued.
Stefan recently played his first tennis tournament. Djokovic said his son loves the sport at the moment and will always be around to help him pursue it.
“He's in love with tennis right now. It was fully his own desire to really pursue tennis. So of course I'm going to be there for him. I never force him to be on the tennis court, but if he wants, I try to always make myself ready to be there and play with him," he said.
Stefan Djokovic serving as practice assistant today for dad. This truly couldn’t be any cuter #Wimbledon https://t.co/pMusgZyrJ4
"I was growing up with skiing, football, tennis, martial arts, different things" - Novak Djokovic
The seven-time Wimbledon champion further spoke about his son's foray into the world of sport, and is glad to see him play various other sports and not just restrict himself to tennis. Djokovic believes this is important for Stefan's growth and even revealed that he himself participated in sports other than tennis during his younger days.
“He's trying different sports. Super important. I was growing up with skiing, football, tennis, martial arts, different things. I feel like it's very important to have, particularly at this young age, a lot of stimulus to the children from different perspectives and different sports and different movement, different activities," the Serb said on the same.
Meanwhile, the top seed at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships is into his 13th quarterfinal of the tournament. He defeated Dutchman Tim Van Rijthoven 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 on Sunday to set up a last-eight clash with 10th seed Jannik Sinner.
83rd Wimbledon match-win▪️ 83rd Wimbledon match-win
▪️ 25th consecutive win on grass
▪️ 13th Wimbledon quarter-final
@DjokerNole continues to dominate on Centre Court
#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 https://t.co/eQw49ktm45
Djokovic's son Stefan, his daughter Tara, and wife Jelena have been regular attendees in his player's box so far during the tournament.
Also Check Out :- Wimbledon 2022 Results