Novak Djokovic hopes his son’s Pikachu bag will be the code to clinch ’25th’ Grand Slam in Australia | Tennis News
It is yet to be revealed the whether Novak Djokovic is a hardcore Pokemon fan or not, but his arrival in Australia with a bag carrying a picture of the ‘electrifying’ Pikachu two weeks ago had caught the attention of fans.
An underlying theory interconnecting the world of tennis Grand Slams and the famous Pokemon database, Pokedex, was soon spread on social media. The Pikachu, almost synonymous with the Pokemon universe itself, appears as the 25th pokememon on the extensive Pokedex. The 37-year-old’s eyes too have been set on an elusive No. 25 for a while now, one that he has been chasing since his US Open triumph in 2023.
Djokovic is one win away from being the first to scale 25 Grand Slams, but he stumbled at every opportunity in 2024. The rare title drought marked the first calendar year without a Slam win since 2017 for Djokovic. Back in Melbourne Park, where he has lifted the crown on 10 occasions, Djokovic senses a defining moment yet again.
Superstitions and coincidences have worked in the past too. Before the 2023 Australian Open where he clinched his 22nd Grand Slam, Djokovic would tap his head with his index finger 22 times after beating Sebastian Korda in the Adelaide finals.
Will the Pikachu magic charm just do the thing this time?
“Yes, I find it interesting and amusing, I had a lot of fun with it. Honestly, I haven’t done it intentionally. Whether the Lord did it intentionally, like it happened with those 22 times in Adelaide… I didn’t do that intentionally either, at least not on a conscious level, probably I did on some unconscious level. Whatever the symbolics, I hope it happens (25th Slam),” Djokovic told a select group of Serbian journals ahead of his second-round Australian Open 2025 match on Tuesday.
The 37-year-old had previously said that the bag belonged to his son, Stefan, who was a Pikachu fan. “All I can say is my kids, particularly my son, loves Pikachu. Subtle subliminal messages,” Novak Djokovic said during his press conference in Brisbane on Thursday. ‘It’s his bag. But I was carrying it on my bag going out from the airport. I have seen [what is being said]. It makes me laugh – I love it.’
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