Filenews 15 June 2025
Novak Djokovic's Greek may be limited to some standard phrases - which he repeats on every occasion - but from now on it is certain that it will improve immediately, as from next September the legend of world tennis will become a permanent resident of Athens. Elena (wife), Stefan (son) and Tara (daughter) will settle in the house she is looking for depending on the English-speaking private school they will close for their children.
At the beginning of the year, Djokovic's side made the first exploratory efforts with the Greek government, which immediately showed a positive mood, making it clear how much it would like to host such an important athlete in Greece. The details will be known in the course of time, but obviously Djokovic will join the Golden Visa program (the regime for granting a residence permit for a period of 5 years to citizens of third countries). In fact, on Friday night, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Novak Djokovic ate together in a well-known restaurant in Kolonaki.
For a man who speaks 11 languages (Serbian, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese) adding one more is not exactly a piece of cake, but a big challenge, like the 25th Grand Slam he is chasing before completing his great career and dedicating himself to business, the tennis academy and his foundation...
At 38 years old, he is by many the top tennis player of all time (with 24 Grand Slams he is the first on the relevant list, while he also holds the record of staying at No. 1 in the world rankings, as he was at the top for 428 weeks!) Although he continues to compete (he reached the age of 4 at Roland Garros), he knows that he has now entered the final stretch for the finale of his legendary career and is slowly preparing for the next day when he will find him off the pitch.
Why he is not returning to Belgrade
Since 2008, when he won his first Grand Slam, Novak Djokovic has been treated in Serbia as a deity. In a country where the dilemma is "Red Star or Partizan?" (in all sports), the tennis player who started out of nowhere had managed to unite all his compatriots who, in every match, shout "Idemo Nole!" (Let's go, Nole).
For a few months now, however, the same has not been the case for the Vučić regime... The president of the Republika Srpska, who had supported Nole with all his might in the adventure he experienced in 2022 at the Australian Open and only last August (after the Olympic gold medal in Paris) announced that a museum will be built in Belgrade for his sake, now considers him an enemy of his government and makes sure to show it in every way.
Why; Djokovic's clear stance in favour of students in the huge anti-government protests that have rocked the country since last November, when the tragic accident at the Novi Sad train station happened. "As someone who deeply believes in the power of youth and their desire for a better future, I think it's important that their voice is heard. Serbia has enormous potential and the educated youth is its greatest strength. What we all need is understanding and respect. With you, Novak," he wrote in X on December 18, 2024, with the regime media ostentatiously ignoring the news, while Serbian public television broadcast his message, omitting his last phrase ("With you, Novak").
Information was also leaked that wanted Djokovic to turn against the government after the cancellation of the agreement that wanted the famous tennis player to take the tennis courts that hosted the ATP tournament that he organized (with his brother as director), without any response from the athlete's side.
In fact, the latest information wants the government to be ready to give the courts to Janko Tipsarevic (for years the No. 2 tennis player in Serbia behind Novak).
However, as the protests in Serbia flared up, Djokovic became more pro-student and on January 31 he appeared at the Red Star-Partizan basketball derby wearing a sweatshirt that read: "Students are the champions." And when journalists asked him what it meant, he smiled and replied: "Everyone knows what it means... They know very well!"
The final rupture came on March 15, when thousands of people once again took to the streets of Belgrade to protest against the Vučić regime, with Novak posting a photo of the demonstrations on X which he accompanied with the following caption: "Serbia... History! Magnificent."
The next day, the newspaper "Informer" (the crowning glory of the mainstream media) became the first Serbian media outlet to attack not only Novak, but also his wife Jelena, accusing the couple of supporting "the hooligans who are forcibly destroying the country."
