“I hope to be the best father possible”

Paris Match. You have won everything. What motivates you to stay at the top?

Novak Djokovic. The love of Tennis. But also the desire to always raise the bar… for me and for others! I feel like I can still compete at the highest level with the best players in the world. I see tennis as the foundation to continue building my legacy and brand, but also to share my passion with tennis fans around the world. Having the support of my family is essential. When I see my children's excitement during tournaments, it pushes me to go further and fight for them!

Since the start of your career, has your relationship with time changed?

Time is the absolute luxury. It is a notion that is both universal and very personal and individual. We are in a time where we too often have the impression of wasting our time or of not having enough… My goal is not to see it go by. To no longer pay attention to the pressure of time because we are in the present moment and we take full advantage of it!

Precisely… Between services, there is a maximum time. Do you watch the clock during a match?

The on-court clock is clearly my least favorite.
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You are a Hublot ambassador. Did you participate in the design of the new watch?

Of course ! From brainstorming to development, I took part in the entire process of creating this limited edition watch, the Big Bang Unico Novak Djokovic, in very close collaboration with the Hublot product team. I love the idea of ​​having brought to life the first watch in the history of tennis created from recycled match equipment and the tennis rackets with which I played in 2023 and won Grand Slams. It's still great to think that the owner of this watch will wear part of my success on their wrist!

Are there any similarities between watchmaking and tennis?

Precision is essential in watchmaking as in tennis. Every step counts in producing a masterpiece. Like in tennis… It's precision that allows you to obtain masterful performances!

Over all these years, who has been your role model?

I am lucky to have had several mentors at different stages of my life… First, there are obviously my coaches, Jelena Gencic and Niki Pilic, who was a tennis player himself. They have always been there for me and their influence was fundamental in the first part of my career. Then, all the coaches I worked with gave me something valuable. I have always tried to stay very open-minded and curious. Deep down, I consider myself an eternal student… of life! My wife and brothers have also been very supportive. Today I am lucky to be very well surrounded and to have several guides to turn to! It's fundamental.

What legacy do you want to leave?

This has nothing to do with tennis, but I hope to be the best father I can be… beyond my sporting achievements, which they are obviously aware of. To build a legacy, you have to inspire children and touch them with your authenticity and your personality. Today, sport benefits from enormous global influence, which is a great opportunity, but it also imposes duties on you: the responsibility to leave your discipline in a better state than it was in when you started. .

Some of your peers have created academies, like Mouratoglou or Rafael Nadal. And you, how would you like to pass on your tennis genius?

Opening an academy is a logical step for many big names in tennis. I will surely give it a go, but with a very different concept and philosophy. We must not rush… The sine qua non condition for investing in such a project will be to be 100% present for the young generation of athletes… Unfortunately, that is not for now!

You who have won all the tournaments, what will be your next dream?

I have way too many ambitions to be able to share them in a single answer! The most important thing is to become a better version of myself… And to be able to do my part for the planet!