"Novak Djokovic told me he was quitting tennis" - When Serb's wife Jelena revealed how 'horrible' Miami Open defeat affected his mentality

Novak Djokovic's wife Jelena once opened up about the time the Serb wanted to quit tennis after a disappointing loss at the Miami Open in 2018. She explained how serious Djokovic was about the decision before changing his mind.

In a 2020 interview with Graham Bensinger, Jelena discussed the point in her husband's life where he felt like quitting tennis. Seeded ninth and ranked outside the Top 10 at the time, Djokovic took on Benoit Paire in the second round of the Miami Open and suffered a 3-6, 4-6 defeat.

"He told me he was quitting tennis," Jelena said. "He had just lost in Miami, a horrible defeat... He got us all together and said, 'It’s over. Eduardo (Artali, his former agent), you can talk to my sponsors. I want to be clear with them. I don’t know if I’m going to stop for six days, a year, or forever.'"

"I'm like, "But you can't quit!" And we are crying, and we're like, "What are you doing? This is not the time!" she added.

The Serb was a 12-time Grand Slam at the time and decided to step away from tennis. However, he reversed his decision after playing the sport with his kids during a vacation.

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When Novak Djokovic's wife Jelena revealed what made the Serb change his mind about quitting tennis

Novak Djokovic, his wife Jelena, and their children at the 2023 French Open - Source: Getty

In the same interview Novak Djokovic's wife revealed that when the Serb decided he did not want to play tennis, meant he did not want to see tennis either.

So, Jelena and their children, Stefan and Tara, played tennis and enjoyed themselves without the former World No. 1. However, the Serb was enticed to join, looking at how much fun his family was having.

"I love tennis, and I kept taking kids with me to play tennis. And then he showed up on the third, fourth day, and he saw me... It's fun, you know. It's not just a practice, which he is used to seeing. Like, it's not fun anymore for him because it's too serious, it's too competitive. He just wants to enjoy and not feel the pressure," Jelena said.

"And luckily, he saw how much we were having fun and how much we were enjoying being on the court," she added.

Djokovic got back to winning ways in 2018, triumphing at that year's Wimbledon and US Open. The Serb currently has 24 Grand Slam singles titles to his name and has had two instances of winning three Majors in a year from 2021-2024.