In the two decades that Novak Djokovic has kicked off his season in Australia, he is more motivated to succeed and feeling calmer than he’s been before, which he attributes to having his young family by his side.
In his 13-minute post-match press conference at the Brisbane International on Thursday night, the real twinkle came to his eyes and pure joy exuded when the 37-year-old discussed the benefits of having wife Jelena, son Stefan and daughter Tara with him Down Under for the first time.
Tennis fans 🎾 We love to see it 🫶@DjokerNole x #BrisbaneTennis pic.twitter.com/3WdtBm3YrP
— Brisbane International (@BrisbaneTennis) January 2, 2025
“It allows me, first of all, to not feel the guilt that I’m so far away for such a long time,” he explained after improving his head-to-head against Gael Monfils to 20-0.
“I’ve been feeling that, I must admit, when I would travel to Australia in the previous years, I would be away for four or five weeks.
“Every time you have to separate with your kids and your wife, there’s a lot of tears involved. It’s not easy. Then you start to question yourself. Why do I have to do it over and over again?
“This makes it so much easier for me, obviously knowing going back home now they’re going to be there waiting for me. I’m more motivated.”
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The benefits are already bearing fruit on and off the court for a clearly relaxed Djokovic.
“I am also more calm, more serene,” he said.
“I spend great quality time with them. It allows me to also not think about tennis 24/7, to have time where I can just release the tension and be really involved in their time. It’s a great balance so far.
“My wife, she’s here supporting me, trying to give me that love and energy, along with kids, that I need to play my best tennis.
“So far, it’s working very well. I mean, I’m feeling great on the court. I’m playing great.”
Djokovic is leaving no stone unturned in his quest for his 100th career title, which could come in Brisbane or with an 11th Australian Open later this month.
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He is close to British Formula One driver George Russell and said a recent tour of his operations was enlightening.
“George took me to their technical room to meet the data and tech team. I think it could be maybe 15 people that is working there on the computers, each person for a specific technical element,” he said.
“I felt like in Disneyland a little bit because I believe that there’s a lot of beneficial things that you can get out of the data.
“Then, of course, how do you transfer it or translate to the court is the key, right? Everyone can see data, read data, but how do you get that on the court to actually work for you efficiently?
“I really like data. Video analysis particularly. I’m quite a visual type of guy. I like to get a sense of patterns of play of my next opponent.”