Novak Djokovic almost blew his relationship with wife Jelena on their first date. The 37-year-old Serbian Tennis great will go down in history as one of the sport’s greatest ever players, with his Olympic gold medal and 24 Grand Slam titles cementing his legacy.
And while he is undeniably an incredibly talented athlete, it would appear that he was a bit more amateur in terms of striking up relationships if his first date with his now-wife of more than 10 years is anything to go by. In a 2016 video interview, Djokovic explained how he took Jelena to a swanky sports bar in Monte Carlo in a bid to wow her – however, she wasn’t impressed by the fact that her beau tried to order her food for her.
Recalling the date, Jelena explained: “Awkward moment, he wanted to order for me and it wasn’t what I expected.” Djokovic ordered her a steak assuming that it was her favourite dish, but he was left horrified when a plate of raw meat was delivered to the table.
“I called the waiter over and explained the steak was underdone,” he said, only to be told that he had ordered a steak tartare which is usually served raw. Thankfully for the tennis ace, Jelena wasn’t too offended by the incident – and it still gives them a laugh to this day.
Djokovic added: “Whenever we see a steak tartare on the menu it reminds us of our first date.” The couple went on to engage in 2013 following an eight-year relationship, before marrying in July 2014 in Montenegro.
And while their first date may not have went exactly how Djokovic would have hoped, his sweet proposal was executed with perfection. Speaking during an instalment of In Depth with Graham Bensinger, he explained: “She thought we were going hiking or something like this, but we went for a hot-air balloon ride.
“I arranged another hot-air balloon in the distance so that when we were coming closer to it, it rises and released the banner sign ‘Will you marry me’.” Confused by the situation at first, Jelena explained: “Are we meant to meet another hot-air balloon on our way and he goes like no this is awkward what’s happening.
“And then the thing goes down and I’m reading it slowly because it’s letter up. I’m like, ‘What will you marry me?’ But I’m like, ‘It’s a commercial? Is he crazy at 7:00 am? Why would want to put a commercial out?’. It’s not a commercial banner and he’s already down on the knee.”
Fast forward to 2025, and Djokovic and Jelena have been happily married for just over 10 years, going on to expand their family with two children. The happy couple welcomed a son, Stefan, in October 2014, before adding daughter Tara to their world in September 2017.
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