Novak Djokovic’s son Stefan was spotted sitting front row on semi-final day at the Monte-Carlo Masters.
Novak Djokovic’s son was spotted watching one of his biggest rivals in action at the Monte-Carlo Masters. Stefan, aged 11, sat courtside for Carlos Alcaraz’s semi-final match against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
It was a brief outing for Djokovic in Monaco this week as he suffered a shock defeat to Alejandro Tabilo in his opening match. But Stefan, who is a big fan of tennis and plays himself, has clearly stuck around to catch a glimpse of the action.
Djokovic has previously revealed that his son is a huge Alcaraz fan. Speaking at the 2022 Madrid Open, he said: “In the last month, for my son, [Rafael] Nadal is no longer number one.
“Alcaraz is his favourite now. He really likes both. He imitates the way they play, Nadal’s forehand, and the emotion, it’s beautiful.”
With Alcaraz leading by a set and a break in his semi-final, cameras cut to Stefan, who was seated in a box alongside another child.
I think that is Stefan Djokovic,” Nick Lester said on commentary. “Unfortunately, dad didn’t last long this week. [Knocked out] by Alejandro Tabilo. Poor performance by Novak’s standards.”
Stefan and Djokovic’s other child, Tara, were also around on Wednesday when he suffered a 6-3 6-4 loss to Tabilo. After the match, the world No. 5 criticised his own performance and said his only goal for the clay was the French Open.
“Some fairly frank comments from Novak Djokovic after his defeat this week, saying he only cares about Roland Garros pretty much, which isn’t a huge surprise, is it?” Lester added.
While it’s been a tough week for Djokovic in Monaco, Alcaraz has enjoyed a career-best run at the tournament. The Spaniard had never won a match here before this year.
He made just one appearance in 2022, losing to Sebastian Korda in the opening round. Injuries prevented him from playing in the last two years.
And Stefan wasn’t the only one who wanted to see the four-time Major champion in action, as France manager Didier Deschamps and former AS Roma captain Francesco Totti were also in the crowd on Court Rainier III.
Djokovic’s son will have been delighted with the result, as Alcaraz booked his spot in his first Monte-Carlo Masters final with a 7-6(2) 6-4 victory, needing six match points to get the job done.
He will face either Alex de Minaur or Lorenzo Musetti in Sunday’s final, which has been moved up by three-hours in a late change to the schedule.