Novak Djokovic says son was cheering for Rafael Nadal in 'difficult to watch' Australian Open final

Novak Djokovic has said that the 2022 Australian Open final was «so difficult to watch» – and wasn't made easier by his son cheering for Rafael Nadal to win. Nadal came from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev in a thrilling match and win his 21st Grand Slam title, moving one ahead of Djokovic and Roger Federer in the all-time standings.

Ad/> Djokovic watched the match from Serbia after he was deported from Australia owing to fears that his presence would stoke anti-vaxx sentiment in the country. TennisDjokovic says 'looks from colleagues' at Australian Open 'hurt a lot'6 HOURS AGO He says he was “neutral” during the match, but his son Stefan and wife Jelena were not.

“I found it so difficult to watch,” Djokovic told the BBC. “I was very neutral, I didn’t cheer for anyone because I wanted to be there so badly.

But I was amused by the circumstances. Djokovic says 'looks from colleagues' at Australian Open 'hurt a lot' Corretja: Criticism of Djokovic has been too much “My wife was cheering for Medvedev, my son was cheering for Nadal and every point that Rafa would make, Stefan would be jumping around.” Djokovic also said his son is keen to get a photo with Nadal at the next event they play together.

“He asked me a few days ago when I was putting him to sleep: ‘When is the next tournament that you are going to participate and play where Rafa is going to be also?’ “I said: ‘I’m not sure, I hope very soon, why are you asking me that?’ And he said: ‘Because I would really love to take a photo with Rafa!’” When Djokovic and Nadal play together again remains to be seen, after the world No 1 said he would be willing to miss more tournaments rather than get vaccinated. Djokovic is playing next week in Dubai, where vaccination is