My handsome fan Novak, by Venus’s cook
A CHEF to the stars was yesterday linked to threetimes Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic – days after tennis legend John McEnroe suggested his losing streak was due to marital problems.
Lauren Von Der Pool, 33, cooks for Venus and Serena Williams and first met Djokovic in 2012 when she gave him dieting tips.
She has since posted three pictures on Instagram of her with 30-year-old Djokovic, whose wife Jelena is pregnant with their second child.
Djokovic, who plays Frenchman Adrian Mannarino on centre court this afternoon, won his 12th Grand Slam title at the French Open in June last year.
But he has admitted ‘private issues’
‘I just helped him out with his diet’
have affected his game and has lost several matches in the last year.
Miss Von Der Pool, who grew up in Washington DC, has catered for the Oscars and Grammys. She was first pictured with Djokovic at a black-tie ball in Perth, Australia, in 2012.
Reports claimed she had ‘danced up a storm’ with the star.
She posted several Instagram snaps of the ball, including one with her arms around Djokovic. A caption said: ‘Thx @djokernole for being so awesome, so happy you’re still drinking your greens and coconut water.’
On a snap in 2015 she wrote: ‘When world no1 @djokernole is your fan lol! Not to be bragadocious but I’m kinda a big deal.’
She has previously denied having any relationship with the Serbian, saying: ‘Novak is a very cool guy, a very handsome man.
‘I just helped him out with his diet and I wanted him to succeed because he is really cool. He is a friend but I am not that type of person.’ Djokovic has been with his 31-year-old wife since 2005. They married in 2014 but have been dogged by rumours that their relationship is in trouble.
Last week McEnroe likened the player to fallen golf star Tiger Woods, whose career nosedived after he admitted cheating on his wife with up to 120 women.
McEnroe, 58, said Woods ‘had the issues with his wife, he seemed to go completely off the rails and has never been even close to the same player’.
In February Djokovic and his wife were seen bickering on Facebook Live when they thought the broadcast had ended.