Novak Djokovic’s status in the world of sport is so significant that some government officials cannot accept gifts he has used as they are perceived to be too significant, according to the President of Serbia.
Aleksandar Vucic spoke about the 24-time Grand Slam champion whilst visiting the ongoing construction of a stadium in Serbia. Djokovic is set to have a museum dedicated to his achievements in tennis that will be fully built in the near future. Although is it yet to be confirmed when it will be built by.
“Palma (de Mallorca) has a museum dedicated to Rafael Nadal. We will aim to appropriately showcase the contributions Djokovic has made to our country and at the same time attract tourists.” He said.
Vucic went on to speak about Djokovic’s popularity outside of his homeland, especially in China where he has won numerous titles. The world No.2 is a four-time Shanghai Masters champion, six-time winner of the Beijing Open, and also won the ATP Finals when it was staged in the country in 2008.
“Novak is greater than Nadal in this magnificent sport. I don’t know if you know how popular he is, not just here but, say, in China. For example, if you gift a Novak Djokovic racket to a Chinese official, they cannot accept it because it is considered too valuable and significant a gift,” he claimed.
Djokovic recently won his maiden gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games, where he became only the fifth player in history to claim a Golden Slam in singles. In the tournament, he defeated Stefano Tsitsipas, Lorenzo Musetti and Carlos Alcaraz. As a result of his triumph, the Serbian government awarded him 200,000 euros. The same amount has also been given to Viktor Troicki, who was captain of the Serbian tennis team.
However, news agency B92 has reported that Djokovic will donate all of the money he received to charitable causes. Something that is yet to be confirmed by the tennis star himself or a member of his team.
After opting to miss this week’s Canadian Masters, Djokovic is taking a brief break before preparing for the US Open which will start at the end of the month.
