By JÖRG WOLLSCHLÄGER | After his 7th victory at Wimbledon, London’s oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament, the Serbian international was given a folk hero’s welcome by thousands of fans in Belgrade earlier this week. This was his first tournament win after the humiliating hiccup in Australia with a ban from playing and his deportation by the authorities. There, they feared his role model effect on the population groaning under a rigorous hygiene regime, as he steadfastly refused to risk his health by having a corona vaccination. He was also unable to participate in two tournaments in the United States because of an entry ban for the unvaccinated [link].
Novak Djokovic’s triumphant return in Belgradepic.twitter.com/W4wOvnFi3o
— We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) July 12, 2022
In his address he said:
„Good evening Belgrade, good evening Serbia. These are definitely the most beautiful moments in life. When I am lucky enough to play the sport that I love so much, that I have played all my life, a sport in which I have really achieved great successes that I am proud of, but I am most proud when I can return home and share my joy with my people. Thank you, you are wonderful!“
„It is Christian to forgive and we are Christians, we look, we forgive, only God knows and the people around me what happened, I don’t want to talk about it now and give the impression that I am complaining. All this has influenced this moment, has motivated me to return to the paths of old glory, to fight for the biggest trophies in sport.“
Novak Djokovic, speech 11.7.2022
Novak Djokovic’s full speech can be read here [link].
Djokovic says he practices telekinesis and telepathy, calling them „gifts of that higher order, source, god, whatever, that allow us to understand the higher power and the higher order within ourselves“ [link], in the homeland of the genius physicist and inventor Nicola Tesla, such views are probably not that unusual [link].
