Novak Djokovic explains how Serbian basketball stars made him cry on homecoming

Novak Djokovic isn’t any stranger to having that successful feeling, however the reception he obtained on his spontaneous return to Serbia on Tuesday night caught the world No. 1 off guard. After clinching his fourth US Open with a straight-sets victory towards Russia‘s Daniil Medvedev, the Serb set a brand new document for essentially the most Grand Slam titles within the Open period, together with his twenty fourth main triumph, shifting forward of Serena Williams.

The 36-year-old had been comparatively calm in his post-match court docket celebrations at Flushing Meadows but it surely was a unique story when he made a shock look on the balcony of the Belgrade City Assembly in entrance of hundreds of adoring followers.

Djokovic had successfully gatecrashed a reception that had been organized for Serbia’s nationwide basketball group, who gained the silver medal on the World Cup and have been additionally gold medalists on the 3×3 Cup world championship.

But his look in Belgrade amid rapturous noise appeared to maneuver the tennis champ to tears earlier than he gave a speech in his native tongue and held aloft the US Open trophy.

National media outlet Telegraf managed to seize a phrase with Djokovic in entrance of a restaurant the place he was occurring to have a good time his success and it was there that he revealed the set off for his tears of pleasure.

Djokovic stated: “Somehow everything happened so quickly for me in New York, that historic success and everything I experienced there in a month, is something that marked the season for me.

“Today (Tuesday) I arrived in Belgrade, I had household obligations, I used to be not even purported to be right here, however with the nationwide (Davis Cup) group in Spain, the place I’m becoming a member of them on Wednesday.

“So it turned out spontaneously in a way that I joined the welcoming event. Thank you to everyone who invited me to that celebration, to be on the same balcony with basketball players who are my friends, people I admire, fantastic guys who made the nation happy with a silver medal, but also more than that, with the human values they showed, Borisa [Simanic] who is a national hero and who pushed the team to reach the final.”

Serbian basketball star Borisa Simanic needed to withdraw from the World Cup to have a kidney eliminated however was again to assist the group have a good time on the balcony.

“Everything somehow turned out that way, few believed that they could go far, but they showed that harmony and unity can take them to the greatest heights,” stated Djokovic.

“I had the privilege of being on the balcony several times, but this is the most beautiful welcome for me, I had someone to share it with, there were also basketball players, whom I have watched for the past two or three decades, I was in front of the crowd, this is unreal for me.”

He added: “Before I went out (onto the balcony), Beogradski Sindikat performed a song they dedicated to me, I knew about that song, but I didn’t know that the basketballers knew the words, and when I realized that they were singing it, when I saw the energy of those people singing that song, it was overwhelmingly emotional.”