“Firing from all cylinders,” the post-match comments of Novak Djokovic after his hard-fought second-round win against Jaime Faria at the Australian Open second round sum up the competition. The Serbian GOAT encountered considerable challenges in the match, as the 21-year-old qualifier pushed him to his limits, extending the match to four sets. However, despite the challenges, the 24-time Grand Slam winner emerged victorious! And where did the ultimate credit go after the win? Of course, to his family! Novak didn’t hesitate to share his emotions of joy with his children, Stefan and Tara, after the match.

Like his first-round match against Basavareddy, Novak lost a set against another youngster Faria, but ultimately took command to run out a comfortable winner. After taking the first set lead in the iconic Rod Laver Arena following a break, the Portuguese announced himself in the battle by rattling four straight games in the second set, affecting a tie-breaker win. However, the Serbian took the lead in the third and fourth sets, completing the match in four sets by 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-2. What came next was heart-warming!

One of the fans shared a video of Novak after his match, where the Serbian seemed to embrace both his children Stefan and Tara one by one in the tunnel. “So so cute 😍, Nole sharing the win with Stefan and Tara ❤️,” the caption read. In addition, the fan also added a line within the video that resembled the nature of every father. “Dad first, tennis star second,” the fan added. Cute right?

Well, during one of the exhibition matches leading to AO, the Serbian revealed that his family traveled along with him to Australia for the first time. And he didn’t hesitate to disclose why they came in the first place. “This is the first time my family comes with me, my children, my wife [to Australia]. If I have a match day, I’m spending time getting ready for that match. She has to take care of the kids. She’s here supporting me, trying to give me that love and energy, along with kids, that I need to play my best tennis,” Djokovic remarked.

Moreover, the Serbian was seen carrying his son’s Pikachu backpack (Pokémon number 25), hinting at his fondness for his children and a degree of superstition. That’s not all!

After his match against Faria, Novak also explained about his surfing adventure with the family, that gave him the moral and physical support leading to the main draw. “I didn’t want to risk it, to be honest. I mean, it looks like a controlled environment, you know, a really nice facility, so hopefully, yeah, going to go deep in the tournament, and after I’m done, maybe I’ll give it a try. My son and my wife did a great job. My daughter, she was a little bit overwhelmed with the size of the waves, I mean, from her perspective, so I had to give her emotional support. I was there for that. And, yeah, it was amazing to spend some quality time with my family,” he added. 

As things stand now, Djokovic will play his 17th third-round clash in the AO on 17th January. And his next opponent? The 24-year-old Czechia Tomas Machac, who had a grueling five-set battle in his second-round against Reilly Opelka.

However, before that match, Novak seemed happy post-match, when he came to know about one of his milestones after the second-round victory.

430: Novak breaks Roger Federer’s record for the most Grand Slam matches played

Another day, another milestone! With the win over Portuguese Jaime Faria in the AO second round, the Serbian GOAT broke another record: becoming the player with the most matches played at a Grand Slam level, 430, overtaking Roger Federer (429). And at the post-match, the Serbian shared light on that incredible feat.

Djokvic said, “Thank you. What to say, you know I love this sport, I love competition. I try to give my best every single time. It’s been over 20 years that I’ve been competing in a Grand Slam at the height level and whether win or lose one thing is for sure you know I’ll always leave my heart out on the court and Grand Slams of course they are the pillars of our sport. They mean everything for the history of this sport. They are the ones that motivate the youngest children you know,”.  

Nole also emphasized the importance of playing at the Grand Slam level. “When I was a kid the first image I had of tennis was watching Wimbledon finals, when I was four or five years old. So year, grand slams are definitely the most important tournaments in the world, in our sport. You know it’s been over 100 or I think 30 years of existence of this incredible event so I’m just blessed to be making another record I guess today,” he remarked.

What is more impressive is that the great Serbian (379-51) has a better W/L record in the majorsas compared to Federer (369-60). In addition, Novak, who spent more weeks at No. 1 than anyone in history, has played 37 slam finals till now, which is also 6 more than the Swiss Maestro. 

Novak is now eyeing his 25th Slam title in total and 11th AO title at Melbourne Park. If he achieves this feat, he will break Margaret Court’s record of winning the most no. of Grand Slams as well. Are you backing the 37-year-old to accomplish that? Share your views down below!