Novak Djokovic has opened up about how his role and priorities have evolved beyond tennis after relishing a relaxing vacation with his family ahead of the Cincinnati Open. The 24-time Grand Slam champion is now turning his attention back to the court, aiming to gain important momentum ahead of the US Open.
Novak Djokovic Opens Up About Evolving Beyond His ‘One-Dimensional’ Role at the Cincinnati Open
Djokovic was last seen in action at the Wimbledon Championships, where he fell short against Jannik Sinner in the semifinals. After a brief trip to the United States to promote his documentary “Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in Winter” and attend FIFA World Cup matches, the Serb returned to family life, enjoying quality time with his wife, Jelena, their children, and other family members during their stay in Montenegro.
Djokovic has now arrived at the Cincinnati Open, looking to win his fourth title at the ATP Masters 1000 event. During his pre-tournament press conference, the 39-year-old opened up about how his approach to preparing for tournaments has changed as he places greater importance on attending to his family’s needs.
“Well, obviously that has changed. I mean, it does depend on family tempo of the life and things that might surface and come out and needs addressing and needs my time, my attention. So, I’ve done quite a bit of traveling internally in Europe to be able to be with family members and do different things,” Djokovic said.
“The family did for me all these years. So it’s not really as straightforward as it was for most of my career, most of my life, where everything revolves around me. It’s not really like that anymore. And I like that because I need to get out of that kind of role as well,” he added.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion spoke candidly about balancing his tennis career with his responsibilities as a husband and father, highlighting all the sacrifices his loved ones have made for his tennis success.
“I’m trying to balance the roles of a professional tennis player, a father, a husband, and son, and brother,” he said. “And I’m trying to be the best I can be in all these different roles. And you know, it takes time. It takes energy. It’s a work in progress.”
“It’s something that I kind of underestimated how big of a support and sacrifice it was from all of the family members around me, in order for them to allow me to create space for 20 plus years to do my thing,” he continued.
Djokovic, who has significantly reduced his schedule and is competing in only his sixth tournament of the year, emphasized that he wanted to evolve beyond his one-dimensional role of a tennis player.
“And once I’m done with tournaments, I’m resting. And then it’s all about how I rest and how well-rested I am once I start preparation. It’s a normal curve in the journey of a professional individual professional athlete. It’s what most of the athletes are doing, the younger ones today, and that’s what I’ve done, but things change, and I don’t want to have that kind of one-dimensional role anymore,” he said.
MORE:Novak Djokovic’s Wife Jelena Shares Heartfelt Perspective on Him As He Reaches Cincinnati Open
Entering the Cincinnati Open as the No. 3 seed in Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz’s absence, Novak Djokovic has received a first-round bye. He is set to kick off his campaign against Thiago Agustín Tirante in the second round on Saturday, August 15.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.