"There is something in that man that echoes with dignity and what I teach my children" - Mother of autistic fans praises Novak Djokovic for kindness towards her kids
Novak Djokovic has brought great joy to two young fans and their parents with his kindness towards them. Jelena, the mother of Luka and Peter, who have been diagnosed with autism from an early age, recently spoke about the Serbian tennis great's conduct towards them after they ran into him at a park.
In a post on Instagram, Jelena spoke about her family's experience with Djokovic, who made Luka and Peter feel comfortable upon meeting them. Their father Nikola asked him for a picture with the kids and the 21-time Grand Slam champion did not disappoint them.
Jelena even expressed how he treated her younger son Peter "as his own equal for years."
"He came to Peter and greeted him as his own equal for years," Jelena wrote on Instagram. "There is something in that man that echoes with dignity and what I teach my children. If we treat people with respect and protect our ideals we are on the right path to being great people."
The older of the two brothers, Luka, has been a tennis fan for years and was nervous after meeting his favorite tennis player, but the Serb made him feel quite welcome. Jelena further said that just a few days ago she dreamed about meeting Djokovic and called it a 'miracle' now that it has become a reality.
"Four days before that I was talking to Nikola how I dreamed of Novak and how I was discussing something with him on the topic of diet and lifestyle. If someone had asked me that morning how to dream of Novak, I wouldn't know how to explain, but I never told a dream. And four days later, here we are in the same park. Miracles happen when we dream. So Luka will one day be a champion, too," she added.
Does the new CDC ruling help Novak Djokovic's US Open participation?
Novak Djokovic's hopes of participating in the 2022 US Open recently received a boost after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) changed its COVID-19 guidelines in the US.
As per the new information, unvaccinated persons will not be treated any differently than those who are fully vaccinated. While this means that the Serbian player's unvaccinated status is now not that big a problem for his US Open plans, the new ruling is still unclear on whether it extends to non-American citizens.
Official: Novak Djokovic is out of Cincinnati Masters. 
🚨 Official: Novak Djokovic is out of Cincinnati Masters.
Doesn't smell good for US Open... twitter.com/EntryLists/sta…
Djokovic will need to wait and see if those rules apply to citizens of other countries who are flying into the United States and also if there is a relaxation in other rules for unvaccinated travelers.
Meanwhile, he is certain to miss this week's Cincinnati Masters in Ohio. If the 35-year-old does eventually get to play in the US Open, he will enter the tournament without any hardcourt matches under his belt after Wimbledon.