Djokovic's mom has thoughts on why her son isn't well liked

In an interview with GQ India, Novak Djokovic's mom Dijana had a lot to say about her successful son. She was seated in his box for the Wimbledon final, in which he saved two match points against Roger Federer.

"I took my cross and prayed to god," she told GQ.

Dijana Djokovic didn't hesitate to address a big storyline in that Wimbledon final: the fact that the crowd was very pro-Federer. It's something her son is used to.

"It is not the first time everyone is cheering for Federer," she said. "He uses the energy of the crowd and thinks they are cheering for Novak."

"When the crowd is chanting 'Roger' I hear 'Novak,'" Novak Djokovic said in London. "It sounds silly, but it is like that. I try to convince myself that it's like that."

Federer and Rafael Nadal are always the crowd favorites when they play Djokovic, even though the Serbia is ranked No. 1. Theories have been bounced around for years, but the most readily accepted is that Federer and Nadal were the original rivalry, and there just isn't space for a third—even if he surpasses them.

"When he was No. 3, it was OK, these guys are No. 1 and 2 but when he became No. 2, probably they could not stand it. I don’t know," Dijana Djokovic said. "I also suffer."

Djokovic increased his Grand Slam total to 16 in 2019, and seems to have no plans to stop anytime soon. At 32, he's younger than Nadal by a year and Federer by six. His mother thinks he'll play until 35, or perhaps longer.

"His goal is to be the best in the world," she said. "So if he wants that, he must win more Slams."