"My angel" - Novak Djokovic sends his wishes to mother Dijana on her birthday
Novak Djokovic took to social media to wish his mother Dijana on her birthday on Tuesday, January 24.
Djokovic is currently competing in the Australian Open. He booked his place in the quarterfinals after beating Alex de Minaur 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 in the fourth round on Monday.
The Serb took to his Instagram story to wish his mother on her birthday and called her "an angel."
"Happy Bday to my angel," Novak Djokovic captioned his story.
Djokovic's mother was among the first people to back his decision not to get vaccinated against COVID-19 when he was embroiled in the visa controversy in Australia last year.
"I mean Novak is old - he is 34, 35," Dijana Djokovic said. "Even me as a mother I don't have any choice to pressure him. He has his own philosophy of his life. If he thinks like that I can just say 'okay'."
"I know Novak is the healthiest guy in the world like a sportsman," she added. "He takes care of his life and his body so much that nobody can even imagine how. He is so dedicated to this sport and dedicated to what he is doing - he is playing tennis - and he wants to stay on the court. And I know he is doing everything to take care of his body, to stay healthy."
Novak Djokovic will face Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open
After beating Alex de Minaur, the Serb will be up against Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Australian Open. The Russian booked his place in the last eight with a hard-fought win over Holger Rune.
Djokovic and Rublev will face each other for the fourth time with the former leading 2-1 in the head-to-head.
When asked about facing the Serb, Rublev said that he was a very tough player to beat and his only chance of winning the match would be by playing his best tennis.
"I know that Novak is very tough player to beat, especially on the slams. He have, I don't know, best experience to win these kind of matches. He's one of the best in history. The only chance I have is if I play my best tennis, just fight for every ball, and that's it. That's the only chance," Rublev said.
The winner of the match between Djokovic and Rubelv will face either Ben Shelton or Tommy Paul in the Australian Open semifinals.