Djokovic reveals “biggest secret” of his career

Novak Djokovic has recently been wearing a nano chip on his chest during his games. The Serb now explained to bewildered reporters what that should bring.

Novak Djokovic is one of the best tennis players of all time. At the same time, the Serb is also one of the most controversial. The 36-year-old also repeatedly made provocative political statements and pseudo-scientific theses. Now also at the French Open in Paris.

There the “Djoker” beat the Hungarian Marton Fucsovics in the second round. During a break in the game, the third in the world rankings changed his shirt and revealed his chest, which showed an unusual patch. At the press conference that followed, Djokovic spoke to astonished reporters about the “biggest secret of my career”.

According to this, the mysterious patch contains a chip with nanotechnology that is supposed to help Djokovic to increase his performance. He himself called the technology “incredibly efficient” and said it was the reason for his exceptionally good form. “Without the patch, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here,” he said, according to Forbes magazine.

The patch is produced by the Italian company Tao Technologies. According to the company’s website, the “Tao Patch” contains a small chip that is activated by sunlight and body heat and thereby “sets nanocrystals in motion, which in turn emit photons into the body.” The “therapeutic light” produced by the chip is intended to help the body to access its full potential. “Without the use of any chemicals,” as the company promises.

However, the therapeutic benefit of the patch has not yet been proven. Tao Technologies advertises a study that was published in the scientific journal Minerva Medica and is intended to confirm the alleged benefits. But the study only allows preliminary conclusions about the effectiveness of the patch.

Djokovic apparently believes in the medical gimmick – also because of its appearance. With the patch, he feels like a kind of “Iron Man,” said the tennis player. He has admired the comic hero from the Marvel Universe since he was a child.

The 22-time Grand Slam title winner has often attracted attention with pseudo-scientific theses. He propagated the healing effects of trampolines as well as railed against the supposedly harmful 5G mobile phone technology or distinguished himself as one of the loudest advocates of the anti-vaccination movement during the corona crisis.

He also offends with his political views. After his victory over Fucsovics, Djokovic also wrote a sentence on a TV camera with a felt pen, which caused outrage. “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. Stop the violence,” wrote Djokovic. That even called the French sports minister into action. She asked the tennis player to hold back with political messages.

After all, Kosovo is an independent state to which Serbia has nevertheless been making claims for years. Tensions and violent riots have increased on the border between the two countries in recent weeks. Alongside the war in Ukraine, the conflict is currently one of the most dangerous on European soil. That doesn’t stop the world number one from expressing his opinion loudly.

Djokovic also supports the ultra-nationalist Serbian government under President Alexander Vucic in other ways. And he is deeply religious. After being excluded from the Australian Open in 2022, he first made a pilgrimage to the orthodox monastery of Ostrog in Montenegro. The holy site is considered a symbol of Serbian Christoslavism, i.e. the premise that Slavs are essentially Christian.

Djokovic also has excellent relations with the Serbian Patriarch Irinej, the head of the Orthodox Church in southern Europe. Even more as an athlete, he sees himself as an Orthodox Christian, said the tennis star when he was awarded the Order of Saint Sava in 2011, the highest honor of the Serbian Orthodox Church. According to the US political scientist Sabrina Ramet, it is characterized above all by its arch-conservative attitude, by intolerance, homophobia and nationalism. In addition, there is a negative attitude towards the West and its values.