<a href="https://www.archysport.com/2022/01/which-one-in-the-novak-djokovic-case/" title="Which one in the 'Novak Djokovic Case'”>Djordje Djokovic, the brother of 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic, let it be known after the ATP 250 tournament in Belgrade that he was part of the big coup in his role as tournament director Rafael Nadal dreamed.
by Dietmar Kaspar
last edited: November 12, 2024, 7:45 p.m
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Two former Grand Slam champions with Marin Cilic and Stan Wawrinka didn’t seem to be enough for Djordje Djokovic as tournament director of the ATP 250 event in Belgrade last week. Even though the 29-year-old only made it into the top 1,500 players in the world in singles, he is absolutely aware of the appeal of players from the “Big3”. And not just since they started together in doubles at the 2015 ATP 500 tournament in Beijing alongside his brother Novak.
Despite all the patriotic advantages of the 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic, a start for the 37-year-old Serb in Belgrade was not an issue right from the start, as the perennial world number one had ended his exhausting season prematurely with the highlight of the Olympic gold medal and will do so in the future With a greatly reduced program you only want to concentrate on the really big highlights. He won’t start again until the new season in Australia. Nevertheless, the Serbian Davis Cup winner supported his brother by paying his personal respects at the Belgrade Open on the second day of the tournament and making himself available for autographs and selfies from his Serbian fans.
After Roger Federer retired from tennis at “his” Laver Cup in 2022, there was only a small remaining chance for Djordje Djokovic to get one of the three greats of tennis active on the court. As he revealed after his tournament, the former world number 559 was dreaming. in doubles from Mallorcan Rafael Nadal’s last ATP tournament start before he finally hangs up his racket after the Davis Cup Final 8 in Malaga. However, an official request was rejected by the management of the 14-time Roland Garros champion because there were other plans in the left-hander’s schedule.
Even though the two tennis legends Nadal and Djokovic did not meet on the sidelines of the Belgrade tournament, the event has only been postponed for now. As the “Djoker” announced, he will personally pay Nadal his last sporting honor at his “Last Dance” in Malaga.
