Our kids adore you: Jelena Djokovic is gracious to Felix in this Insta message

“You were incredible last night Felix. Our kids adore you and you are an amazing role model.”

Deafening center court roar, flashing cameras and frantic tactical dissections aside, it was a heartwarming, public Instagram comment from Jelena Djokovic that captured the true essence of Wimbledon’s all-time classic.

Writing directly to Canadian third seed Flix Auger-Aliassime the morning after was painfully pushed out in the quarter-finals by her husband Novak, Jelena added: “One had to come out of that match as a winner, but there’s something to be proud of. We’ll be rooting for you.”

At a time when modern sports are increasingly defined by a toxic, lingering aftertaste, Jelena’s message provided a deep sense of relief and joy. Whether it’s the tribalism of football VAR arguments, toxic post-match cricket post-mortems or hyper-reactive online fan warfare, the beauty of great sporting moments is routinely swallowed by digital bitterness. The modern sports public is practically forced to expect hostility after a high defeat.

Instead of retreating into the insular triumphalism typical of the elite sports troupe, Djokovic’s camp actively chose to lift up his opponent. By publicly calling the young man who spent more than five hours trying to dismantle her husband’s legacy an “amazing role model” for her own children, Jelena reminded the cynical sports world that true grace still exists. Screenshot from Instagram

The beautiful digital post-scenario felt completely fitting given how the match ended. True to his character, Djokovic deliberately paused his own victory celebrations and stepped aside to allow Felix to fully absorb the thunderous ovation from the Center Court crowd. The images of the 24-time Grand Slam champion standing on the sidelines warmly applauding his young challenger beautifully reflected the deep-rooted charm of a man chasing a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon crown.

Five hours and 15 minutes the night before, the atmosphere inside SW19 couldn’t have been further separated from the courtesies on social media. Djokovic and Felix pushed themselves to the brink of physical exhaustion in what is officially the longest quarterfinal in Wimbledon history.

In the intense London heat, which later gave way to an electric, claustrophobic environment under the closed roof of the central court, the two men traded heavy artillery. Felix, the 25-year-old world number four, played the match of his life. Armed with a blistering first serve, the Canadian hammered a staggering 29 aces and kept the greatest returner in tennis history scrambling for answers.

Djokovic had to summon every bit of his legendary survival instinct. Battling a troubling calf injury in the first set, he took a timeout and routinely gesticulated in exasperation toward the players’ box. It was in that box that Jelena sat, alongside their children, Stefan and Tara, living and breathing every painful basic exchange.

There was barely a millimeter of daylight between them. Both players held serve 25 times and converted exactly two break points each. Tiebreaks defined the epic. After splitting the first four sets, the match entered a nerve-wracking fifth-set decider and hurtled towards Wimbledon’s strict 11pm curfew.

At 22:52, with just eight minutes to spare, Djokovic finally broke the young Canadian’s resistance in the final 10-point tiebreak of the match to wrap up a monumental 7-6(10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6 (10-4) victory.

An exhausted Djokovic admitted in his post-match interview that he had won “with all his heart” and revealed that he was internally urging his children to go to bed as the clock struck late in the evening. Yet when Djokovic progressed to a thrilling semi-final showdown against world number one Jannik Sinner, the aftermath was one of extraordinary mutual respect between the camps.

– The end

Issued by:

Akshay Ramesh

Published on:

09 Jul 2026 10:55 IST