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“These Horrible People”: Novak Djokovic’s Father Blames Wimbledon for Missing His Son’s 20th Grand Slam

Published 08/09/2021, 6:30 AM EDT

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Serbian World No.1 Novak Djokovic recently lifted his 20th Grand Slam and sixth Wimbledon title. However, this time around, he did not have his parents, Srdjan and Dijana Djokovic, in the player’s box to support and cheer for him due to COVID-19 protocols. As a result, the furious father decided to speak out against the most prestigious tennis tournament.

Expressly, the senior Djokovic claimed that the tournament asked them to quarantine for a week, whereas 100% capacity fans came for the final. Hence, he and his wife missed their son’s legendary achievement – equalling Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s career haul. Undoubtedly, it is something he will never forget.

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Watch this story: Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, and Other Top Richest Tennis Players

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Novak Djokovic’s father furious at Wimbledon

Nole admittedly comes from a closely-knit family and has had family support his entire career. Hence, his father got upset as he could not be there for his son this time.

“When I’m in his box, I play every ball with him,” Srdjan said. “Unfortunately, my wife and I wanted to come to Wimbledon, but they didn’t let us.”

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Furthermore, he reflected on the protocols set in the times of the ongoing pandemic. He was not happy when he heard that he would not be able to be there with Novak.

“These horrible people did not allow us, parents, to go and watch him because we had to go in quarantine for a week, even though the stadium was full with 15,000, 16,000 people,” he added.

via Reuters

Consequently, he exclaimed that he would never forget that Wimbledon did not let them watch their son. He added that they also wanted to go to Tokyo Olympics but couldn’t. Indeed, Japan had much more stringent protocols than England, allowing no crowds during the event.

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Where will Novak Djokovic play next?

Missing out on his Golden Slam quest, Djokovic withdrew from the upcoming Rogers Cup 2021; no doubt he needed a break to recover before he starts his preparations for the US Open 2021.

Most significantly, the 34-year-old Serbian has an opportunity to win the 2021 Calendar Grand Slam this year, that is, winning all the four major tournaments in a calendar year. Thus, he would most likely start at Cincinnati Masters to get some match reps before New York.

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All in all, it would be interesting to see if Djokovic can equal the 50-year-old history Rod Laver made. Do you think the Serbian will go all the way in New York?

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Written by:

Purav Joshi

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Purav Joshi is a Tennis author at EssentiallySports. Having a degree in Films, Television and Media Production, he guided his passion for writing and journalism into the sport of aces and rallies. With over 2 years of experience as a copywriter, Purav has authored over 500 tennis articles.
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