Novak Djokovic Shares Sweet Moment With Son After Historic French Open 1st-Round Win

While every tennis player is chasing Jannik Sinner right now, given the run that the Italian superstar is currently on, there's a strong case to be made that the man who has the best chance to dethrone him at the 2026 French Open (aka Roland Garros) is Novak Djokovic.

After all, not only is the 39-year-old Djokovic still the world's No. 4-ranked player, but he is also one of two men to beat Sinner in 2026, as he bested him in the semifinal round of the Australian Open back in January.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates his victory over Jannik Sinner | Mike Frey-Imagn Images

However, Djokovic's chances of usurping Sinner in another major almost ended before they got off the ground on May 24—or at least got out of the first round, given that Djokovic dropped his first set against France's Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard before bouncing back and winning the next three sets.

Despite the slow start, Djokovic seemed quite loose throughout the match. He certainly was after the match point, which was shown with his victory dance, which is making waves on social media.

39-year-old Novak Djokovic comes back from a set down to win his opening match at Roland-Garros 🚨

Wait for his celebration at the end 😂🔥 pic.twitter.com/KbCvQKnkes
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 24, 2026

Even if Djokovic isn't in the best form of his career right now, experience counts for something in prestigious tennis tournaments like Roland Garros.

And Djokovic is now more experienced than anybody else, as his appearance on Sunday marked a record-breaking 82nd men's singles main draw appearance at a Grand Slam event, which is the most in history.

Novak Djokovic Celebrates With Wife, Kids After Historic French Open First-Round Win

One cool component to Djokovic's historic longevity in tennis is that his family has been through so much of it with him. Especially his wife, Jelena, with whom he has been married since 2014 (and who reposted the above Instagram post to her story on Sunday).

The couple has two children together. One is a son named Stefan, and the other a daughter named Tara. And Djokovic celebrated his record-breaking first-round Roland Garros victory with all three of them Sunday.

The @rolandgarros Instagram account posted a video of Djokovic doing what looked to be a secret handshake with his son after the match ended. He then embraced his wife while his daughter stood next to them. The video ended right as he appeared to hug her, as well.

It's awesome to see the mindset that Djokovic is taking into this year's tournament, as he just seems to be content creating memories with his family. Then again, he's still a world-class competitor and would probably like nothing more than to beat Sinner once more later in the tournament.

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