Djoko’s dad puts his shirt on Novak

Written by: Staff on 9th September 2010

Djoko's dad puts his shirt on Novak

Sept. 8, 2010; Flushing, NY, USA; Novak Djokovic (SRB) on day ten of the 2010 US Open at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-US PRESSWIRE |

At least there is one person who has noticed Novak Djokovic and thinks he will win this year in Flushing Meadows. Alas, this person’s utter devotion to the No.3 seed’s cause is not exactly reassuring young Novak – it’s his dad, and you know what dads can be like.

Mr Djokovic Senior has taken to sporting a tee-shirt emblazoned with his son’s image. Obviously he wears it as a sign of support for No.1 son but, even so, Mr Djokovic Junior rather wishes he wouldn’t bother – especially as the TV cameras keep panning across to Dad every time son wins a point. It’s a not good look. The shirt is only one step down from dad-dancing or dad-singing at weddings and parties and is enough to make any kid’s toes curl.

“I would never wear the shirt,” Djokovic said, trying to explain his family’s bizarre sartorial style and then distance himself from it. “Me, personally, never. My father, I understand. Okay. He’s proud. But me? Never.

“I don’t know. He’s a proud father. What can I say? I’m just happy to see them supporting me. I don’t know where he got this fancy shirt. To be honest, it was somewhere in Belgrade. I cannot say it. He’s my father. If he wants to wear this shirt, he can wear this shirt.”

Actually, Djokovic could use a little support this year, embarrassing dads or not. All attention has been focused – as usual – on the Mighty Fed and the Lovely Raf, but Djokovic has been quietly getting better and better round by round. He reached the semi-finals with a 7-6, 6-1, 6-2 demolition of Gael Monfils and did so in the most appalling of conditions. With the wind swirling around the vast Arthur Ashe Stadium, even the simplest of shots could suddenly be turned into a nightmare if an unruly gust blew up at the wrong moment.

For a set, Djokovic struggled with the conditions and with his game while Monfils made the early running. But then the Serb screwed down his concentration and cut out the errors while Monfils went walkabout. Not even the Frenchman’s coach, Roger Rasheed, could understand what was wrong with his charge and sat at the side of the court knitting his brows in fury. It looked as if the post-match debrief would not be for those of a delicate or sensitive disposition.

Since he almost melted in the heat at the start of the tournament, taking five exhausting sets to get the better of Viktor Troicki, Djokovic has gone from strength to strength. He has not dropped a set since that early scare and he is looking awfully good at the moment. His win over Monfils put him through to his third consecutive semi final in New York and he clearly feels right at home on the main stage at the US Open.

There was a time when the heat or the frustrating conditions would have prompted Djokovic to implode. While he is a showman when everything is going well, in the past his downfall has been his willingness to turn into a drama queen when things are going against him. This year, he appears to be quietly confident and utterly determined.

Against Monfils, he took the first set in his stride and then merely got down to business.

“I just needed to keep the focus and try to use the wind in my favour,” he said simply. “This was the tricky thing today. Obviously the conditions were maybe as difficult as we saw so far in the tournament. We didn’t have wind only one direction. We had it all over, you know. I had some struggles when I was coming to the net. In the first set I made a lot of unforced errors there, because I haven’t seen the ball really well and it was moving.

“But I am more stable mentally now. I like to show my emotions on the court but I am being very stable right now, being aggressive on the court and hitting the ball well.”

The only man to have beaten Djokovic in the past three years in New York is The Fed and when the draw was made, it pitted the two together, potentially, in the semi finals. Again. This, though, did not bother Djokovic unduly. The fact that the attention was on the top two men suited him rather well and he sounded ominously confident about his chances should he have to play Federer again.

“I like playing under the radar sometimes,” he said. “It releases the pressure on myself, and just focusing on my matches, doing the job, and winning the matches. Of course, as the two best players in the world, they are the most dominant in five last five, six years. Biggest favourites to get into the finals, and I’m sure that the crowd wants them in the finals. But, you know, I will try not to make that happen.”

Alas, Djokovic Junior may be trying to fly under the radar, but his dad most definitely isn’t. Not in that shirt. Still, Dad’s wardrobe misfortune would be a small price to pay if Djokovic actually gets his hands on the title this year.

Topics: Arthur Ashe, Arthur Ashe Stadium, Belgrade, Concentration, Dad Son, Demolition, Djoko, Fancy Shirt, Gust, Monfils, Nightmare, Novak Djokovic, Proud Father, Raf, Semi Finals, Serb, Tee Shirt, Time Son, Tv Cameras, Utter Devotion