"When I travel, I want to win": Novak Djokovic reveals how he turns family separation into extra motivation

Novak Djokovic has revealed how being separated from his family when he travels to ATP tournaments acts as further motivation for him to win.

The World No. 1 has seen a lot of success this season, winning the Australian Open, Roland Garros, and the US Open as well as the Cincinnati Masters and the Adelaide International 1. However, Djokovic has been notably absent from many tournaments which were attended by the majority of his fellow top-ranked players.

After his US Open victory saw him equal Margaret Court's record for 24 Grand Slam titles, it was announced that Djokovic would skip the entirety of the Asian swing, most notably the Shanghai Masters, with a focus on playing the Rolex Paris Masters, where he is currently competing.

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Djokovic opens up on importance of family

One major reason for Djokovic deciding to skip several tournaments was the opportunity to spend more time with his family. The 36-year-old married his childhood sweetheart Jelena Ristic in 2014, the same year that they welcomed their son, and Jelena gave birth to their daughter in 2017. 

In a recent interview with Eurosport, the Serbian player opened up on the difficulties of traveling to keep up with the demands of the ATP Tour and how he uses being away from home as extra motivation to win.

"I'm as flawed a human being as can be. I need even more extra motivation nowadays at this later stages of my career than maybe what I needed five years ago or 10 years ago. Things are different. My life is evolving.

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"It breaks my heart every time I leave them. So when I travel, when I go somewhere, I really want to win. I want to make that travel worth it," he said.

At the same time, Djokovic's desire to continue in the sport is clear, with it being highly likely that he will finish 2023 as the year-end No. 1 once again.

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