Novak Djokovic shares glimpse of his Tom Brady-inspired American football training with son Stefan at UCLA, receives praise from NFL icon

Novak Djokovic recently shared a video of his Tom Brady-inspired American football training with his son Stefan at the UCLA campus ahead of his 2024 Indian Wells Masters campaign.

Djokovic last played at the Australian Open in January, where he lost in a four-set thriller in the semifinals to eventual champion Jannik Sinner. He is set to return to action at the Indian Wells, which starts on March 6. The Serb has won the tournament five times (tied with Roger Federer), most recently in 2017, and is the favorite to claim his sixth title.

In a video that Djokovic posted on his Instagram story on Thursday, February 29, he can be seen playing as a quarterback, throwing passes to his nine-year-old son Stefan, who plays the role of a wide receiver. Stefan snaps the ball backward between his legs to his father, who then launches it in the air.

"Inspired by Tom Brady. QB is good, will teach WR some things haha 😂🤪," the Serb wrote.

The video caught the attention of Brady himself, who is widely regarded as the greatest quarterback of all time and is a frequent attendee in Serb's matches. The former player reposted the 24-time Grand Slam champion’s video on his Instagram story and wrote:

"😂😂 practice makes perfect."

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Novak Djokovic draws inspiration from Tom Brady, commits to playing tennis beyond 40

A few months ago, Novak Djokovic said that he would do his utmost to continue playing past the age of 40, drawing inspiration from NFL icon Tom Brady.

Brady had a 23-year career where he played for the New England Patriots (2000-2019) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2020-2022) before hanging up his boots at 44.

The Serb stressed that he is not thinking of quitting anytime soon, as he wants to go with the flow and see how long he can last.

"Why stop when you are still playing great? So I will keep going. I know [Tom Brady] personally as well, and I learnt from him, from his example, and, hopefully, I can have a career that goes up to 40 and maybe even beyond, let's se," the World No. 1 said in a video shared on X (formerly Twitter) in December 2023.

"I feel great in my own body right now, and I have been playing some really high quality tennis. 2023 was one of my best seasons I've had in my life, and why stop while you're still playing great. I will take it one by one and see how far I go," he added.