Novak Djokovic's family's argument with tournament bosses after incident with fans

Novak Djokovic's family were involved in a row with tournament organisers during a landmark Grand Slam triumph. The Serbian tennis great has racked up an incredible 24 Grand Slam victories during his storied career and remains in contention for a 25th, despite stiff competition from the world's top two male players, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

His first major title came back in 2008 at the Australian Open, where he defeated Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets after losing the first set. That famous victory came amid drama in the stands at the Rod Laver Arena involving his support team and his parents, Dijana and Srdjan, who had been seated directly in front of a group of vociferous Tsonga supporters.

In a new book by Sportal, called Novak: Untold Stories, Dijana recalled the commotion and believes it cost her son the first set. She said: "The match against Tsonga was a struggle. For the first time, we were placed in a better-ranked [players'] box on the right, and behind us were the French, not our guests.

"And those French kept shouting 'Allez Tsonga!' which started to irritate us. Novak saw that we were moving. He felt that something was happening, so he lost the first set because of that.

"We ended up arguing with the tournament director because they put the French fans behind us. He told us to change the box, but we insisted on staying in that one."

Meanwhile, Srdjan recalled the sheer joy at seeing his son win a Grand Slam title at the age of 20. He said: "When I think about it, I remember the immense joy and happiness that he won a Grand Slam trophy before he was even 21 years old.

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"The whole family was there. Afterwards, I went up to the stands and asked some of our people if they had Serbian flags, so we withdrew and let them confront the French, so they cheered for Novak.

"That was one of the moments that helped Novak a lot to push through and take the first Grand Slam. Then Novak told me, 'Dad, this was the right move for you!'"

Tsonga, who retired in 2022, was left crestfallen by a defeat that he struggled to get over, despite enjoying numerous subsequent victories over Djokovic. Speaking at the 2023 Australian Open, he recalled: "My whole career I've been asking myself, 'Why?'

"Why did I lose that final when I beat him five times in a row after that? What happened? You never stop thinking.

"You try, you fall down, you get up, you move on, it's part of a player's career. So this final is part of mine."