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Novak Djokovic, the unanimous king of tennis in the Balkans

Belgrade (AFP)

It does not matter that he wins the US Open and becomes the first tennis player with 21 majors in his record, for his fellow Serbs and the rest of the former Yugoslavia Novak Djokovic is already the best player of all time.

This opinion is unanimous among tennis specialists, athletes and fans in this region wounded by tensions between communities, a quarter of a century after the years of war (some 130,000 dead).

For Medin Sestan, 22, a handball player for Gradacac in Sarajevo (Bosnian first division), Djokovic is “the idol of the whole region”.

“He is a great man, a humanist, as well as the greatest who has hit a tennis racket, without any debate,” he explained to AFP.

“He united us all beyond the wars that marked us in the past, he has the unconditional support of all,” he adds.

– The figures speak –

Nikola Pilic, a former Croatian tennis player and respected coach who has won the Davis Cup with three countries (Germany, Croatia and Serbia), says the figures speak for themselves.

“So far he has won 20 Grand Slam tournaments, the only one who has won all of them at least twice, he has the best results against Top 10 players, he is number 1 for 340 weeks …”, Pilic tells the AFP.

Same opinion in his native Serbia for Vladimir Grbic, former international volleyball player, Olympic gold medalist, tennis player Viktor Troicki, his former accomplice in the Serbian Davis Cup team, or Radmilo Armeulic, former Yugoslav racquet coach.

“If he wins the US Open, there really won’t be a place for debate,” believes Armenulic.

– Humanitarian activities –

His humanitarian activities beyond tennis have reinforced the status of No. 1 in the Balkans.

His donations through his foundation are common, not only in Serbia, but also in Bosnia and Croatia, when these countries were hit in 2014 by catastrophic floods.

During the covid-19 pandemic it also helped Serbia, but also sent respirators to Montenegro.

The player, who lives in Monaco, has kept his ties with his homeland, especially with Belgrade, his hometown, where he returns to visit childhood friends.

A few days after winning Roland Garros for the second time in June, he surprised one of them by showing up at his wedding.

Djokovic has also invested in Serbia, where he owns real estate and a tennis center in Belgrade that is hosting a 250 category ATP tournament.

This campus and the foundation of a future academy appear to be the main interests of Djokovic, 34, when he decides to retire.

– The ‘spiritual’ Novak –

His spiritual side also shines through, especially when he visits Visoko, a Bosnian town near Sarajevo, with the “Bosnian Pyramids Archaeological Park” a place he describes as “the home of his soul”.

This place is controversial, denounced by some specialists who link it to esotericism and even to sects. But thousands of Serbs have visited after Djokovic was there three times since July 2020.

The villagers, mainly Bosnian Muslims, now speak of “our Novak”.

“It has done a lot for communication between people, for our mutual understanding, more than politicians in recent decades, that all they have done is divide us,” says Semir Osmanagic, founder of the park.

In Croatia, with relations with Serbia still difficult, the local media recall her mother’s Croatian origins.

In addition, his coach is the Croatian tennis legend Goran Ivanisevic, winner of Wimbledon.

The player usually takes summer vacations on the Croatian Adriatic coast.

And he has shown his support for athletes from this country, such as when the soccer team was a finalist for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, which cost him some Serbian criticism on social networks.

“My status and my name can contribute to mutual support. But in the end, who would I support if not Croatia? I just feel that they are mine,” said Djokovic, who on Sunday will have the chance to become the first tennis player to win. 21 Grand Slam titles, although to do so he must beat Russian Daniil Medvedev in the final of the US Open.

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