Lleyton Hewitt came out of retirement this week to play doubles alongside his son, Cruz Hewitt.
Playing his first match in five years, Hewitt partnered with his son to win the first round of a Challenger Tour event in Sydney.
The Hewitts beat Hayden Jones and Pavle Marinkov 6-1, 6-0, in 48 minutes to book their spot in the quarterfinals.
Playing with his son, Hewitt may have shown tennis legend Novak Djokovic that his dream could yet become a reality.
Novak Djokovic said it would be a ‘dream’ to play doubles with his son
During a recent interview with Piers Morgan, Djokovic was asked about his son, Stefan Djokovic’s interest in tennis.
“My son, he’s turning 11 in a few days’ time,” he said.
“He seems like he’s choosing to play tennis. I feel excited and frightened at the same time.
“I think he’s got some good genes in him! He’s good.
“But I want to be his father, I don’t want to be his coach.”
Djokovic insisted that he wouldn’t mind his son becoming a professional tennis player, as he shared how he is preparing Stefan for the challenges that lie ahead.
“I would not mind,” he said.
“I’m slowly trying to introduce the world of tennis and sports to him. I can’t throw everything at him at once.
“I’m picking and choosing the right moments. If this is the journey that he chooses to have, I’m going to be 1,000,000% behind him, supporting him every step of the way, in whatever shape or form.
“He’s going to have, like [Cristiano] Ronaldo’s son, a big mountain to climb, mostly because of other people, but if that’s the way, let’s go.”
The Serb then shared his dream of playing doubles with his son.
“That’s a dream, to play doubles with him.
“To play against him! No, I wouldn’t want that. Of course, I wouldn’t let him beat me, I’d kick his ‘Beep’.”
If Stefan Djokovic were to enjoy the same rise up the rankings as Cruz Hewitt, he could be eligible to play alongside his father in five years, when he turns 16.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion would be 43 then, although like Hewitt, Djokovic could come out of retirement as a one-off to play with his son.
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Only time will tell if we will ever see the Djokovics play doubles together, but it will certainly be something to look out for in the future.
When does Novak Djokovic plan to retire from tennis?
After winning the 101st title of his illustrious career in Athens, Djokovic suggested when he plans to retire from tennis.
“Since I’ve achieved absolutely all possible goals, I spoke about the 2028 Olympics because I wanted to play for so many more years. So maybe ending up at the Olympic Games with the Serbian flag, that would be nice,” he said.
Djokovic enjoyed a successful Olympic campaign last time out in Paris, winning Gold for the first time in his career.
Novak Djokovic’s route to Olympic gold in 2024
- 2024 Olympics 1R [WIN] vs Matthew Ebden
- 2024 Olympics 2R [WIN] vs Rafael Nadal
- 2024 Olympics 3R [WIN] vs Dominik Koepfer
- 2024 Olympics QF [WIN] vs Stefanos Tsitsipas
- 2024 Olympics SF [WIN] vs Lorenzo Musetti
- 2024 Olympics F [WIN] vs Carlos Alcaraz
If he were to return in 2028, he’d look to become just the second player in the history of men’s tennis to win two Olympic gold medals in singles.
Olympic medalists (Men’s singles – Open Era)
| Olympic Games | Gold medalist | Silver medalist | Bronze medalist |
| 2024 Paris | Novak Djokovic (Serbia) | Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) | Lorenzo Musetti (Italy) |
| 2020 Tokyo | Alexander Zverev (Germany) | Karen Khachanov (Russia) | Pablo Carreno Busta (Spain) |
| 2016 Rio | Andy Murray (Great Britain) | Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina) | Kei Nishikori (Japan) |
| 2012 London | Andy Murray (Great Britain) | Roger Federer (Switzerland) | Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina) |
| 2008 Beijing | Rafael Nadal (Spain) | Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) | Novak Djokovic (Serbia) |
| 2004 Athens | Nicolas Massu (Chile) | Mardy Fish (USA) | Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) |
| 2000 Sydney | Yevgeny Kafelnikov (Russia) | Tommy Haas (Germany) | Arnaud Di Pasquale (France) |
| 1996 Atlanta | Andre Agassi (USA) | Sergi Bruguera (Spain) | Leander Paes (India) |
| 1992 Barcelona | Marc Rosset (Switzerland) | Jordi Arrese (Spain) | Goran Ivanisevic (Croatia)/Andre Chersakov (Unified Team) |
| 1988 Seoul | Miloslav Mecir (Czechoslovakia) | Tim Mayotte (USA) | Stefan Edberg (Sweden)/Brad Gilbert (USA) |
It remains to be seen if Djokovic can join Andy Murray and become a two-time gold medalist.
The 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, USA, are scheduled to begin on Friday, July 14.
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