Getting married to one’s high school sweetheart sounds like a fairy tale. Novak Djokovic brought that possibility to life. One of the sport’s biggest stars has been married to his wife, Jelena Djokovic (formerly Ristic), since 2014. Ahead of the Serb’s quarterfinal showdown against Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open, fans are intrigued to know more about his support system – one who never backs out from cheering her husband on the big stage.

The lovebirds’ longtime story started when they attended the same high school in their home country Serbia. While pursuing their studies, the couple also played tennis together in school and dated for eight years. When the time came for their engagement, the couple celebrated their love in 2013 in Monte Carlo, where the former World No. 1 lived at the time. But, you can bet that their love story was never void of struggles.

Back when Djokovic’s career started to showcase potential, Jelena focused on completing her studies. Her hard work paid its dues after she enrolled in the Bocconi University in Milan, where she took up luxury brand management. Despite their relationship dynamic enduring a long-distance romance, coupled with their respective work commitments, the pair found a way to make it work. She narrated their love story during a conversation with ‘Hello’: “Us getting together was like science fiction almost. 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.”

After completing her studies, Jelena decided to live with Djokovic in Monte Carlo and temporarily found work at an oil company. However, the work commitments started affecting her love life, and she eventually had to leave the job. To keep herself occupied with work, she went on to act as the National Director of the couple’s charity organization, the Novak Djokovic Foundation.

The mother of two, Stefan and Tara, married Djokovic in 2014, shortly after Nole won his second Wimbledon silverware. The couple took their wedding vows during a small gathering in Sveti Stefan, a small coastal town in Montenegro. Having been there for her husband every step of the way, Jelena also told the ‘Daily Mail’ that although she gets passionate while watching him play, she bars from showcasing those emotions to avoid ‘distracting Novak’.

A wellwisher for her husband, Jelena also stood by Djokovic’s side when the Serb dropped a retirement bombshell on his family years ago after enduring a rough patch on the tour.

Jelena Djokovic reveals convincing her husband Novak Djokovic to not quit tennis in 2018

Jelena Djokovic sensationally revealed a shocking incident from seven years ago when Novak Djokovic revealed to his family that he wanted to walk away from the sport for good. During an interview on the ‘In Depth’ podcast with Graham Bensinger, the mother of two narrated how it took Djokovic days to be convinced by his family to not throw in the towel after a “terrible loss” in the R1 of the Miami Open forced him to think otherwise.

She said, “He just gathered all of us and said, ‘You know guys, I’m done. I’m like, ‘But you can’t quit’, and we were crying, we were like ‘What are you doing? This is not the time. It was just crazy … we went on a holiday together. When he decides he doesn’t want to play tennis … he doesn’t want anything to do with tennis, and I love tennis. He showed up on the third or fourth day (of the holiday), and saw me and Stef playing on the court.”

“Luckily he saw how much fun we were having … he was like, ‘Can I have a racquet, please? He took a few balls and starting serving, and he was like, ‘It’s not feeling bad, it’s OK – I’m going to call Marian (Vajda), I’m going to ask him to come back and be my coach again,” Jelena added. For those unaware, Djokovic underwent elbow surgery following his shock exit from the Australian Open at the hands of South Korean Chung Hyeon. Upon his return, he suffered a straight-set defeat to Benoit Paire in Miami.

Regardless, Nole put those times in the rearview mirror four months later after he lifted the SW19 title for the first time since his injury. And now, he is on a quest to script a record-extending 11th Melbourne Slam and prepares to battle Carlitos for a thriller showcase at the Rod Laver Arena.