Novak Djokovic gives Ilya Malinin ‘once in a lifetime moment’ at Winter Olympics ATP Tour
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Djokovic creates ‘once-in-a-lifetime moment’ at Winter Olympics
Serbians watch Ilya Marinen win figure skating gold for U.S. on Sunday night
February 9, 2026
Phil Walter/Elsa/Getty Images
Novak Djokovic watched Ilya Marinen compete at the Winter Olympics in Cortina, Milan, on Sunday night.
Written by ATP Staff
Novak Djokovic is no stranger to excellence, and on Sunday night he found himself admiring it from a different perspective.
Just seven days after reaching his 11th Australian Open final and losing to world number one Carlos Alcaraz, the 38-year-old Serbian competed in the figure skating team event at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Sitting next to his wife Jelena, Djokovic was clearly smitten with 21-year-old prodigy Ilya Marinen as he helped the United States win Olympic gold.
“I did see Djokovic, it was unreal,” Marinen said after the skate. “I heard that after I landed on the backflip, he put his hands over his head. It was incredible. It was a once-in-a-lifetime moment: to see a famous tennis player watching me perform… I was absolutely blown away.”
The Olympics have special meaning for Djokovic. In Paris in 2024, he completed one of the last missing pieces of his resume, defeating Lexus ATP Head2Head rivals Rafael Nadal and Alcaraz to win his first gold medal. He has since called it one of the most important wins of his illustrious career.
