Novak Djokovic sits down for an exclusive chat with Karl Stefanovic | Today Show Australia

Summary

Novak Djokovic sat down for an interview before his defeat at the 2024 Australian Open. He discussed his upbringing in war-torn Serbia, how it shaped his grit and determination, and his growth as a family man. Djokovic also reflected on his many achievements, connection with the crowd, and being away from his kids. The interviewer impersonated voices, making Djokovic laugh. Djokovic remains focused on continuing to compete at the highest level.

Takeaways

• 😀 Djokovic sees Melbourne as a special place with fond memories despite controversies
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Djokovic credits his upbringing and family for his grit and determination
• 😨 War and bombing in Serbia as a child still affects Djokovic today
• 🎾 Djokovic believes his success is destiny after the war hindered Serbian athletes
• 😤 Djokovic channels his childhood experiences into a fierce competitive spirit
• 👪 Djokovic struggles being away from his kids but values family time
• 🤡 Djokovic lightens the mood by joking with the interviewer with impressions
• 🐐 Djokovic is considered the greatest male tennis player ever with 24 Slams
• 🤷‍♂️ Djokovic brushes off retirement talk and believes he has more to achieve
• 💪 Djokovic shows admiration and respect for his rival Federer

Q & A

What does Novak Djokovic say has shaped his grit and resilience?

Djokovic says his upbringing, including living through war and embargo in Serbia, has shaped his grit, resilience and never-give-up spirit.

How does Djokovic describe his experience at the Australian Open over the years?

He says he has enjoyed every year at the Australian Open except for one, referring to when he was deported from Australia in 2022.

What does Djokovic say he struggles with as he gets older?

He struggles with being away from his kids for long periods of time during the tennis season.

What does Djokovic say is his favorite part of the day?

His favorite part of the day is when he has his kids' full attention and they play together.

How does Djokovic respond to Nick Kyrgios saying he was in love with him but has now fallen in love with Stefanos Tsitsipas?

Djokovic jokingly says "whatever bro" and acts like he doesn't care, showing he can laugh about the situation.

What causes Djokovic to get emotional during the interview?

Talking about missing his kids and not being there for his daughter losing her first tooth makes Djokovic emotional.

What does Djokovic think about retiring from tennis?

He says he has no thoughts of retiring yet and feels there are more chapters to come in his career.

What does the interviewer say about his impression of Djokovic after the interview?

He says Djokovic is a legend and an incredible, fascinating person away from the perceptions people have of him.

How does Djokovic respond to the interviewer's Cartman impression?

Djokovic laughs and says the impression is good, showing he has a sense of humor.

What causes the whole studio to laugh at the end of the interview?

The interviewer does Djokovic's signature laugh, and encourages everyone in the studio to join in laughing together.

Outlines

00:00

😀 Novak Djokovic's early life and upbringing in war-torn Serbia

Paragraph 1 summarizes Novak Djokovic's challenging upbringing during the wars in Serbia in the 1990s. It mentions Djokovic was 12 years old during the bombings that lasted 2.5 months. He says this experience left trauma but also gave him grit and resilience. Djokovic believes this has contributed to his success in tennis.

05:01

😂 Novak Djokovic's fun side as a father of four children

Paragraph 2 shows Novak Djokovic's playful side as a father of four young children. It mentions Djokovic struggles being away from his kids while traveling for tennis. He shares a funny video of himself in a Halloween costume to embarrass his kids. The interviewer talks about the importance of fathers spending quality time playing with their children.

Keywords

💡resilient

Resilient means able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions. Novak is described as resilient because he has lived through war and adversity but continues to excel at tennis with determination. His upbringing during war shaped his grit and never-give-up attitude.

💡controversies

Controversies refer to Novak's actions and behaviors that have stirred debate and criticism from the media and public. This includes his views on vaccines, injuries, and disputes with umpires/officials. Despite the controversies, his tennis skill remains unmatched.

💡family man

Novak is portrayed as a family man who deeply cares about and misses his children when he travels for long periods. He emotionality speaks about treasuring family time and how fatherhood shapes his perspective.

💡war

Novak lived through bombings and violence during the Yugoslav Wars as a child. These traumatic experiences shaped his mental toughness and likely contribute to his intensity and focus on court.

💡never giving up

A key part of Novak's spirit and success is his refusal to give up, even when losing. This links to the resilience built from his childhood and view that you can destroy the body but not the soul.

💡balance

Novak emphasizes the importance of balance between tennis and family time. As his kids grow older, he struggles more with missing milestones when he travels for tournaments.

💡laugh

Novak and the host bond over impersonations and laughs, showing his playful side away from tennis. His unique laughter punctuates lighthearted moments in the interview.

💡perceptions

The host notes that public perceptions of Novak contrast with his actual warm, funny personality away from the court. This gap relates to the controversies around his public profile.

💡retiring

Despite speculation over retirement, Novak insists he is not considering it yet. His passion for tennis and self-belief remain strong driving his motivation.

💡fascinating

The host calls Novak a fascinating and incredible person, suggesting public fascination with his skill and personal story of resilience.

Highlights

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The presenters emphasize the need for larger, more diverse patient cohorts in genomic research.

This work elucidates new mechanisms by which lifestyle factors interact with genetics to impact health.

Findings suggest several actionable targets for preventing or treating major diseases.

The research provides insight into the functional consequences of non-coding genetic variations.

Integrative analyses reveal emergent properties of biological systems that are not evident from individual components.

Collaborative, interdisciplinary efforts are needed to fully realize the potential of precision medicine.

The presenters highlight the responsibility to ensure equitable access to genomic technologies and therapies.

Overall, this work makes important contributions to translating genomic knowledge into improved human health.

Transcripts

there's no athlete quite like Novak

jovic determined resilient with a laser

focus on Victory the Serbian is

considered by many to be the greatest

male tennis player of all time but

beneath the 24 Grand Slam titles and the

countless controversies there's a family

man who's lived through war and come out

the other side with a unbreakable spirit

I sat down with him before his defeat at

the Australian Open how you feeling

great yeah what does this city mean to

you it means a lot to me obviously every

every time I I step out on the rod labor

Arena you know I kind of relieve the

memories of the previous years and and

everything that I've been through so uh

I enjoy it I feel like you've seen the

best of times here the worst of times

and the best of times again is that I

wanted to say I wanted to say I've

enjoyed myself every single year except

one year what what happened that a short

that was a short state but you know I

haven't seen much of the city if I can

say so left it all behind as it's it's

one of the experiences that I definitely

won't forget uh the experiences that

have left uh you know a very strong Mark

in in in my life how much of your

upbringing um has shaped you we we've

been through two Wars embargo for 4

years from ' 92 to 96 no Serbian athlete

could travel abroad for any for

competitions you know to compete

internationally so it it was very

challenging times it it just uh toughens

you up it could have easily gone a

different way uh but I I believe that it

was a kind of a destiny as well uh for

me to to play tennis and to be able to

achieve this these great things you know

I I I watch you play and Jim and and

John mroe they're all like man what's

going on inside that guy's head you know

he's going to flick the switch and it's

like you go into beast mode is part of

that you on the court Rel related to all

those experiences yeah it could be it

could be uh I I don't know to what

extent but there is definitely some

connection to and link to to my

upbringing and I was 12 when we had

bombings for 2 and a half months

non-stop day and night so is that still

living in there

um at times it appears uh mostly when I

hear fireworks when I hear that sound it

it really reminds me of of those you

know bombs exploding and grenades and

stuff so it you know it's it's not

really super pleasant but you know you

still have a little bit of trauma but

going back to your question I think it

is connected to that the grit the

resilience they're never giving up

spirit and and I think um it surfaces

normally in the moments when it you know

when it's either break it or make it

your hard to kill is the reality I mean

they all want to get here we have a

saying in our country you know you can

you can kill us I mean our body but you

cannot never kill our our soul and our

spirit so so I really believe in that in

the end of the

day how many tennis players in a history

are are are able to do the things that

I've done and I've achieved I'm not

saying this to praise myself I'm saying

this to remind myself of hey you know

you know pinch yourself look where you

are look what you've done at the same

time I feel like it's just it's it's one

chapter of my life I feel like there are

more chapters to come do you deal with

being away from your kids okay not

really uh to be honest I uh I I do

struggle with that more and more as the

time goes on Australia is a long trip

probably the longest one that we have in

the entire Year my son is nine uh my

daughter is six uh every day every week

they change and you know my daughter's

tooth uh first tooth went out and I

wasn't there for that so I was like you

know but at the same time um it's all

about balance I've got four beautiful

kids as well I've got um you the lot of

my life but I want to show you I love

Annoying them like I'm the most annoying

dad in the history of the world I'm just

going to show you one thing here that I

did at Halloween all right and see if

you get up to this sort of

[Music]

thing you did that I saw that on

Internet it's so beautiful as you get

older though to have those moments uh

dads should play with their children all

the time and I mean that's like my

favorite part of the day just when I

have their attention and when they have

my attention when we are fully present

and we play and we invent stuff and it's

the best it's the best I'm you know I

see getting emotional right now you know

I miss them I I'll see them in a few

days if you want to have a cry and a

cuddle I have a hug I have a hug I've

been watching you for last couple of

years and watching the Elliot come show

with Impressions the Eric Cartman you

know the

one yeah yeah yeah look at the car he's

probably the only one that could really

copy my laugh yeah laugh is

like this is good this you got it too

that's good I love

it there's two of them you know Nick

curios is quickly um you know he was I

feel like you know he was in kind of in

love with me and then he's fallen in

love with he's dropped me he's in love

with you whatever bro whatever bro I

don't care bro I don't even care why I'm

here like what's going

on hey great me great talk to go thanks

go thank you see you next year awesome

oh that's one of that's one of the great

chats go he's a Legend um you know he'll

be back um you know there's all sorts of

debate over you know what's the future

holds for him but he has no time um for

even thinking about retiring yet but

he's still having a great time but he's

just an incredible dude he's really

Fascinating People have their own kind

of perceptions of him but away from it

all he's just a really like a really

cool dude he really believes in what he

does his family all those it really all

came out there that a real special thing

for me to do I can retire now we'll have

to play that laugh again later that me

going see there you go just do it it

makes you feel makes you feel

good that's do it at home go

on the whole studio is doing it it's

wonderful look could you st

there you go hey there today fans Sarah

and what's my name again oh Carl hey

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