The woman who stood by Novak Djokovic before he became a tennis legend |⭐ OSSA

Novak Djokovic broke down in tears during his first-round defeat at the US Open. After more than four and a half hours of battling illness and pain, the 39-year-old was visibly emotional as the crowd chanted his name. I had enough energy to battle him and to keep up with his rhythm for two sets. After that, I was just gassed out. Watching from the stands were his wife Jelena and their two children. The family Novak recently admitted he has sacrificed precious time with to keep chasing his tennis dreams. Years ago, I had a dream that my daughter and my son will be able to watch me win Wimbledon trophy. So that happened several times. But Jelena has understood that dream almost from the beginning. She met Novak when they were teenagers. And strangely enough, she first entered his life as someone else's girlfriend. Jelena had dated one of Novak's tennis friends, who once celebrated an important victory by revealing a shirt declaring his love for her. The white shirt written, Jelena, I love you. Really? This is for you. Novak and his friends found the gesture painfully embarrassing. And we were like, oh my God, that's so lame. Why would you do that? And then who is this Jelena? And it was her. After that relationship ended, Novak and Jelena got to know each other through mutual friends and began dating in 2005. We were in a kind of similar same company. And then, yeah, and then we started dating. But staying together wasn't easy. Jelena went to Milan to study while Novak trained and competed. And neither had much money. Us getting together was like science fiction almost, Jelena once explained. I was a student barely getting by, and he was a very young tennis player who also had no money to spare on expensive trips. Somehow, they made the long-distance relationship work. And while Novak's tennis career began taking off, Jelena pursued ambitions of her own. Novak has emphasized that she wasn't simply following him around the world, but he also credited her with becoming an enormous part of his success. She's my rock. She's someone that has seen the worst and the best sides of me. She has seen my evolution. She has challenged me on every level. She's been the source of energy, of love. It's something that keeps me going. After eight years together, Novak decided to propose. And apparently, a simple dinner wasn't dramatic enough. He told Jelena they were going hiking, but instead surprised her with an early morning hot air balloon ride. What she didn't know was that Novak had arranged for a second balloon to appear in the distance, carrying a huge, Will You Marry Me? banner. I say, Are we meant to meet another hot air balloon on our way? And he goes like, No, this is awkward. What's happening? The plan almost went terribly wrong. The other pilot struggled to release the banner and accidentally burned a hole in his balloon. As it began losing altitude, Jelena was more concerned about the pilot than whatever Novak was trying to do. Oh my God, there is a hole in a balloon. Then she turned around and found Novak already on one knee. She said yes, and in July 2014, just days after Novak defeated Roger Federer to win Wimbledon, the couple married in Montenegro. Seeing her walking toward him remains one of Novak's most emotional memories. She looked like an angel, he recalled. I was focused on her and her smile and our baby. It really was a perfect moment. Their son Stefan arrived that October, followed by daughter Tara in 2017. But becoming parents also meant balancing Novak's extraordinary career with a family that increasingly needed him at home. And Novak has never pretended their marriage is perfect. More than 20 years after they began dating, those challenges increasingly involved tennis itself. I didn't grow up emotionally as much as I did tennis-wise. Novak recently admitted that continuing his career demands enormous sacrifices from Jelena. While he travels, she keeps their family together and helps their children deal with having their father miss important moments. I still play at this level because also of the support that she's giving to our family back home. He has also described communication, honesty, and transparency as essential to keeping their marriage strong. Admitting that a relationship lasting more than two decades inevitably involves sacrifice and compromise. That makes seeing Jelena and their children in New York especially poignant. As Novak struggled physically and wiped away tears, they were watching from the stands. He eventually lost in five sets before making a heart with his hands toward the crowd and leaving Arthur Ashe Stadium. What comes next for Novak remains uncertain, but Jelena has already been beside him for almost the entire journey. From two teenagers struggling to afford trips to see each other, to a marriage, two children, and one of the greatest careers tennis has ever seen. It's hard to express everything that I feel as kind of love and gratitude towards her and what she means to me in my life. And Novak isn't the only tennis legend whose extraordinary career was built alongside a relationship that began before the biggest trophies arrived. One of his greatest rivals, Roger Federer, also had the same woman beside him for almost his entire journey. But their story began with a kiss that nearly went nowhere. When Roger Federer first kissed his future wife, Mirka thought he was too young for her. 25 years, four children, and 20 grand slams later, she clearly changed her mind. My wife's been so supportive. Their story began at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where both were representing Switzerland. Roger was only 18, while Mirka was 21, and already considerably more disciplined than the talented but temperamental young player she had first noticed throwing his racket at a tournament. Over two weeks in the Olympic Village, however, something changed. Roger later recalled that they built up some chemistry, but he was apparently too nervous to do anything about it. Eventually, one of the wrestlers staying with them encouraged him to kiss her. She said, hey, go kiss her now. And I'm like, no, I don't know, maybe. Mirka's reaction wasn't exactly what Roger hoped for. She told me I was so young when she kissed me after she kissed me. Desperate to improve his chances, Roger told her, I'm almost 18 and a half. Back in the day, that was a big deal. Mirka apparently still thought he was a baby. But the kiss worked. It was more than just a kiss, I guess. It was something that led to something extraordinary for us. The timing was especially significant because Roger wasn't yet Roger Federer, tennis legend. We met at the Sydney Games, when I hadn't won any titles yet, he later explained. She's been with me almost every step of the way. Mirka understood that world better than almost anyone because she was pursuing the same dream. She reached number 76 in the world before a persistent foot injury forced her to retire in 2002. As her own professional career ended, Rogers was beginning to explode. I was, you know, on the ascent of starting to win Wimbledon, top 10, world number one. And Mirka became far more than the girlfriend cheering from the stands. Roger has credited her with helping transform him personally and professionally. She taught me what discipline is, he explained, describing Mirka as incredibly disciplined while admitting that he had been more of a natural performer who needed guidance. And she's been incredible, you know, throughout. I developed faster, grew faster with her, he once said. She has been with me day in and day out, throughout the world, and has helped me considerably as a person. In April 2009, after almost nine years together, Roger and Mirka married in a small ceremony near Basel. Just months later, they welcomed identical twin daughters, Myla and Charlene. Then, in an almost unbelievable coincidence, another set of twins arrived in 2014, sons, Leo and Lenny. Diapers, you name it, I had to do it all, you know, before semis, sometimes before finals. Instead of leaving his family at home, Roger wanted them with him. That meant Mirka took on an enormous responsibility. Four children traveled around the world while Roger practiced, competed, and chased championships. Roger later admitted that the logistics were crazy and said Mirka worked very hard to make that life possible. Like creating that home away from home experience, like in a room like this, creating a corner where the kids would be playing. More importantly, he knew she could have simply said no. After winning his 20th Grand Slam at the 2018 Australian Open, Roger acknowledged that his career might have ended years earlier without her. This life wouldn't work if she said no, he explained. He didn't want to spend more than two weeks away from his children, meaning continuing to play depended on making professional tennis work for the entire family. Mirka kept saying yes. Without her support, I wouldn't be playing tennis no more since many years. And eventually, she was there when Roger had to say goodbye. By 2022, repeated knee problems had finally forced him to accept that his professional career was over. At the Labour Cup in London, Roger played his final match alongside his long-time rival and friend Rafael Nadal. Mirka and all four children watched from the stands. Afterward, Roger somehow held himself together until the conversation turned to his family. My wife's been so supportive, he said through tears. She could have stopped me a long, long time ago, but she didn't. She kept me going and allowed me to play. Mirka was crying too. Years later, Roger reflected that she had helped him through difficult moments, kept him motivated, and been there for almost every stage of the journey. In his retirement documentary, one of the moments he found most moving was hearing Mirka explain how much watching him play had meant to her. Roger and Mirka's love story grew alongside one of tennis' greatest careers.