Novak Djokovic marries pregnant fiancée Jelena Ristic days after winning Wimbledon, opts for full-on Hello! splash
The tennis champion's private nuptials were attended by just a few friends, family members... And a gossip magazine
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Your support makes all the difference.Calm, collected and sporting to the end, Novak Djokovic’s Wimbledon win was entirely characteristic.
And the build-up to his wedding, staged in Montenegro just four days after he claimed the title, beating Roger Federer in a five-set nail biter, looked to be similarly cool.
One by one, guests arrived in blacked out vehicles, shielded by giant sun umbrellas as they made their way into the five-star Aman Sveti Stefan resort on Thursday to watch the tennis player marry his pregnant childhood sweetheart, Jelena Ristic.
The 27-year-old director of the Novak Foundation – Djokovic’s charity that invests in pre-school education in Serbia – wore a dress designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, the same brand that the Duchess of Cambridge opted for.
In an entirely uncharacteristic move, however, they sold the image rights to Hello! magazine and gave a fawning, tell-all interview to run alongside it.
“Seeing her for the first time in her wedding dress, smiling and walking towards me - she looked like an angel,” Djokovic gushed in the centre-fold exclusive. Out on stands now, for those who want to read in full.
“I was trying to be present in that moment and memorise it. I was focused on her, and her smile and our baby. It really was a perfect moment.”
Ristic continued: “I was very nervous and everything seemed a blur. I was seeing him through tears and immediately started crying when I saw him.
“I was just so happy and probably being pregnant makes it quite difficult to control the emotions. I am so blessed to have him in my life. I couldn't ask for a better partner than him.”
She went on to describe their “unforgettable” nuptials, attended by close family, friends, and a bunch of people from Hello! magazine, as “everything we hoped it would be”.
Naturally, winning Wimbledon put Djokovic in a sterling mood for the event.
“I am marrying the woman I love and there is no better feeling than that,” he tactfully said, adding: “To win Wimbledon and to now be preparing for fatherhood - I couldn't ask for more.”
Djokovic had, of course, postponed his original wedding date – which was set to take place on 14 June – to focus on the tournament. A move probably slightly more popular after he actually went on to win it.
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