The week is very much a case of national pride for Novak Djokovic as he relishes in the rare opportunity of playing an ATP match in his home country.
The world No.1 is the headline act at the Serbia Open which is the most prestigious men’s event to take place in the country since 2012. It is being played at the Novak Tennis Center which is named in honour of the 18-time Grand Slam champion. It is somewhat of a sentimental experience for Djokovic considering the last time he played an ATP event in his native Serbia he had won only two major titles and was yet to reach the world No.1 position.
It is perhaps for this reason why the top seed felt at home in his opening match on Wednesday. 70 minutes was all Djokovic required to defeat South Korea’s Kwon Soon-woo 6-1, 6-3. The only blip he experienced was being broken in the penultimate game of the match as he won 74% of his service points.
“A lot of those people on the court I’ve known for over 20 years. It feels really special playing in front of them and it gives you an extra motivation to really give your best and leave it all out on the court,” he said afterwards.
“That made me feel comfortable and confident. I played really good and I’m very pleased with the quality of my tennis.”
If battling for a title this week wasn’t enough, Djokovic is keen to ensure the overall running of the tournament goes as smoothly as possible. Aiming to prove that Serbia has what it takes to stage a top event in tennis. His brother Djordje is the tournament director and they are determined to make sure the Serbian Open isn’t just a one-off on the calendar.
“It’s quite important for me and my brother that everyone or at least a majority of guests who came here (to Belgrade) have a good time,” he said.
“ So far we have heard a lot of positive feedback. That gives us more inspiration to organise it (the tournament) even better next year.”
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic Djokovic tried to support his compatriots on the Tour by opening up his academy for them to train at his academy. Now his hope is that a surge of events being staged in Serbia will help raise their level of play. Belgrade will host a second 250 event next month thanks to the French Open being delayed by a week. Meanwhile, there are also tournaments for the women taking place too.
“It’s amazing. I’m very proud that we are able to bring this many quality tournaments (to Serbia),” Djokovic reflected. “One of the biggest goals of why we do this is because we want to allow the home players to have as many opportunities to compete at a high level.”
As for Djokovic’s participation in the second Belgrade event, it appears to be unlikely given the close proximity to the French Open. When asked about his plans for the event he replied ‘I love sleeping at home and spending time with my family.’
Djokovic will play eighth seed Miomir Kecmanović in the next round.
“It’s been a thrilling performance so far and lets hope I can go all the way this week.” He concluded.
