Novak Djokovic’s wife, Jelena, interrupted his latest press conference at the Hellenic Championship with a request for her husband. Djokovic was speaking after beating Alejandro Tabilo to reach the quarter-finals of the inaugural edition of the ATP 250 tournament in Athens, Greece.
While the 24-time major winner was speaking to the media following his victory, Jelena poked her head around a side door alongside their son, Stefan, and daughter, Tara. Their appearance prompted laughter from the assembled journalists in the room, with Stefan responding by saying “Hi” and waving at them.
Djokovic then asked them whether they had a question about his tennis or even his hair. “We just wanted to say goodbye,” Jelena replied.
“Maybe just take him for a second, and he’ll be back,” she proposed to the room. Djokovic, however, shot down that suggestion: “Give me one minute, I’m just finishing. One minute, I’m coming back.”
He then continued answering the question that had been interrupted. As he did so, his children, who had entered the room along with Jelena, exited through the side door.
During that same press conference, Djokovic denied he had definitely decided to play at the ATP Finals, as the president of the Italian Tennis Association, Angelo Binagi had claimed. “I don’t know where he got that information from,” Djokovic said.
“It did not come from me, nor from my team. I will make a decision at the end of the tournament in Athens.”
The tournament in Athens will conclude on Saturday, and Djokovic faces sixth seed Nuno Borges in the quarter-finals tomorrow (Thursday). Sebastian Korda is also through to the last eight, with the other round of 16 matches – featuring seeded players Alexandre Muller, Brandon Nakashima, Lorenzo Musetti and Luciano Darderi – taking place on Wednesday.
