Djokovic’s disastrous first date with wife who has become his ‘lucky charm’

Djokovic’s disastrous first date with wife who has become his ‘lucky charm’

Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic is back on the court this evening as the favourite to take home the trophy once again, but outside of tennis, he’s been winning in the romance department also.

 

The 36-year-old, who has been playing tennis since the age of four, has been married to Jelena Ristić since 2014, with the pair recently starting their own family.

 

 

However, their relationship goes back much further than that as the couple actually first met in high school in Serbia. Although it seems sparks may not have flown right away, as while they met in the ’90s, they didn’t officially start dating until a decade later.

 

However, things got off to a rocky start when they finally did go on a date, as their first outing was a bit of a disaster. In a video in 2016, produced with Jacob’s Creek ahead of the Australian Open, Novak recalled how he almost blew his chances with Jelena after their first date in Monte Carlo at a sports bar.

 

“In my eyes, at the time it was a very exclusive place to take her,” he revealed, before adding: “I wanted to impress her so I found this very good restaurant.” And while Jelena wasn’t overly impressed by the choice of venue, she also wasn’t impressed by what her date ordered for her.

 

The couple went on a disastrous first date(PA)

They tied the knot in 2014(Instagram)

Jelena revealed: “Awkward moment, he wants to order for me and it wasn’t what I expected.” Novak thought he’d ordered steak for her as it was her favourite, however he was horrified when he realised his mistake and a plate of raw meat was served.

 

“I called the waiter over and explained the steak was underdone,” he said, but then was embarrassed to be told: “You ordered the steak tartare it’s always served raw.”

 

Clearly, Jelena wasn’t too put off by it all though as they’re still together and the bad date has made for a funny story to tell. “Whenever we see a steak tartare on the menu it reminds us of our first date,” Novak added at the end of the video.