Novak Djokovic's 11-year-old son, Stefan, stole the show during his father's first-round Wimbledon match against Yibing Wu on Centre Court, drawing amused reactions from commentators including John McEnroe. The 24-time Grand Slam champion was locked at 4-4 in the third set when the crowd's chants of "Wuuuuuu" appeared to rattle him, but Djokovic responded by raising his game, holding serve to go 5-4 ahead and putting his finger to his ear.
Stefan's Energetic Reaction
In the player box, Stefan—up well past his bedtime—reacted ecstatically, beginning with a fist bump before swinging his arm back and forth in pure delight while shouting. BBC commentator Andrew Cotter chuckled: "Stefan! Like father, like son. Easy Stefan." John McEnroe added: "That is impressive energy. Carlos started that, but a lot of guys are following in his footsteps."
Djokovic's Approach to His Son's Tennis Career
Stefan is a keen tennis player who frequently joins his father on practice courts during tournaments. However, Novak Djokovic, 39, has stressed he does not pressure his son to follow his path. "I'm not forcing him to play tennis. I never did that. Not a single day have I told him you have to do this," Djokovic explained. "It's really purely his own desire to step on the court. Of course, I'll be thrilled if he plays tennis. He shouldn't feel any of the pressure or expectations yet, even though he's going to because it's part of his family."
Djokovic added: "Obviously, we had a chat about the routines and the things he should do. You have to speak in their language about things that I feel like it could help him. He was showing me forehands and backhands, how he's going to move tomorrow, kind of shadowing, playing shadow tennis. I try to take that energy, childish energy, and fuel my inner child because I tend to forget about my inner child a lot. Everything is so serious. It's your profession. It's your job."
