Novak Djokovic has always being a strong supporter of bringing back a tournament in Serbia and for a good reason. Thanks to the world no.1, tennis became hugely popular in Serbia and the country has constantly been launching new tennis stars alongside the rest of the Region.
The Serbian Open and Djordje
The ATP has just announced a new calendar with the addition of tournaments in Singapore and Marbella. The Hungarian Open will also be played in 2021 in Belgrade and that is great news for tennis.
The Serbian Open (clay) will be staged at the Novak Tennis Centre (19th of April), which has 11 clay courts and is one of the region’s most prominent facilities. The Serbian Open took place also 2009-2012 and the Djokovic family already ran it. Novak won the event in 2009 and 2011.
Obviously, there are some question marks about the appointment of Djokovic’s brother as the tournament director in Belgrade. Djordje was also the tournament director of the disgraced Adria Tour that failed to implement the most basic safety protocols against the Coronavirus. Also, it seemed as Novak was in charge of the event, not his brother. However, there is hope that Djordje has gained some experience and can stage a great tournament.
Nepotism and critics
While Novak has always been extremely active in helping the others also with the excellent work of his Foundation, he has often been accused of nepotism as his brothers were often awarded wildcards that could have been assigned to other players that had not the support of notable siblings. That sounded unfair to many.
The appointment of Djordje will definitely attract a lot of criticism. It was also interesting to notice that Marbella will also host an ATP250 this year at the Club de Tennis Puente Romano where his brother Marco has been working for long.
Novak Djokovic in 2021
Ranked no.1, Novak played his last match on the 21st of November 2020 when he capitulated to Dominic Thiem 7-5 6-7(10) 7-6(5) in the semifinal in the Nitto ATP Finals (draw).