'He likes to intimidate me' - Novak Djokovic admits son Stefan impersonates Rafael Nadal in practice at Wimbledon
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Published 05/07/2022 at 08:55 GMT
Novak Djokovic admitted that his son loves to impersonate Rafael Nadal during practice. The Serbian world No. 3 has spoken before about how Nadal was among his son's favourite players, and father and son have been pictured together at this year's Wimbledon. Djokovic faces Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals at SW19 on Wednesday.
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Novak Djokovic says his son likes to impersonate Rafael Nadal when the pair practise together - and admits he doesn't like it.
The 20-time Grand Slam winner's son, Stefan, has been seen by his father's side on the All England Club's training court during Wimbledon.
The two have been seen playing together, with the youngster learning from one of the very best as he develops his own game.
And while Djokovic said in May that Carlos Alcaraz had overtaken Nadal as his son's favourite player, it appears as though the legendary Spaniard still has an impact on Stefan's playing style.
A copy of Nadal's famous forehand, in particular, seems to be among the seven-year-old's shots.
"He likes to do it...he likes to intimidate me by ending the swing like that. He knows I don't like it," joked Djokovic.
"When he does that, he always laughs because he knows it."
He added: "I try to take every opportunity to play with him. He discovered tennis for himself. It's all about how he plays best.
“Everything around tennis, how he can play, he’s watching, he’s analysing. We’re talking. Last night when I was putting him to bed, he was asking me questions: What is the difference between the racquet head sizes, the strings, why somebody is stringing less tension, all these basic questions that kids are very curious about.
“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”.
Djokovic also revealed that his son was cheering on Nadal in the final of the Australia Open against Daniil Medvedev, even though a win secured him a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title.
The world No. 3 said his son "jumped around at every Nadal point and cheered with his fist like Rafa."
Djokovic faces Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals at SW19 on Wednesday.
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