Novak Djokovic’s wife Jelena was delighted by the Serb’s ‘Soda Pop’ tribute dance for their daughter Tara after defeating Taylor Fritz at the US Open. Djokovic has now advanced to each Grand Slam semifinal this year.
On Monday, September 2, America’s last hope in the men’s singles draw, Fritz, faced his biggest nemesis, Djokovic, in the quarterfinals of the US Open. The fourth seed came in with confidence after a strong run in the earlier rounds, but once again found the Serb to be a hurdle too high.
Despite putting up a spirited fight and even taking a set off the 24-time Grand Slam champion, Fritz ultimately fell short. Djokovic sealed a 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 victory, and extended his flawless head-to-head record over Fritz to 11-0.
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After earning the win, the Serb broke into a playful dance inspired by the song "Soda Pop" from the K-pop Demon Hunters animated film. He revealed he had learned the steps at home from his daughter, Tara. Jelena shared a video of his dance on her Instagram Story, and captioned it:
"Awwww my little soda pop!! Idemooo hahaha"
During his post-match on-court interview, the Serb explained how Tara's eighth birthday inspired the celebration:
"It’s my daughter’s birthday, so this is a big present for her. Actually, the dance, in the end, she’s gonna rate me tomorrow. Because she told me how to dance. It's a K-pop Demon Hunters. Soda Pop is the name of the song."
He mentioned that they had practiced it at home earlier, and his daughter will be happy to see it when she wakes up.
"My daughter told me a few months ago about it. So we are at home doing different choreographies, and this is one of them, so hopefully, I'll make her smile when she wakes up tomorrow morning," he added.
Before the match, the 24-time Grand Slam champ had opened up about his disappointment over missing his daughter's birthday due to the US Open quarterfinal.
Novak Djokovic hoped to give his daughter Tara a present on her 8th birthday at the US Open
Days before his quarterfinal match against Taylor Fritz at the US Open, Novak Djokovic was asked about his daughter Tara's eighth birthday. The Serb mentioned that they had predicted it would happen, and Tara was not happy about it.
"It is what it is. We predicted that might happen. Yeah. She was not very happy about it, me being absent from the birthday party. So don't remind me of that, please," he said.
Further, the 38-year-old father of two hoped winning could help his daughter be happy even though he would be absent.
"But I'll try to win. Hopefully the win can be something she can be happy with. But again, yeah, Daddy away and daddy present is a big difference, and I know that. But, it is what it is this year," he added.
Djokovic delivered on his words and notched the win against Fritz. He has set up a mouthwatering clash against World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals. The Serb leads their head-to-head 5-3, and also won their latest encounter, the 2025 Australian Open quarterfinal.
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