As 10-time AO champion Novak Djokovic prepares for his semi-final battle with Italian Lorenzo Musetti this afternoon, his relationship with Serbian authorities remains in focus as year-long anti-government protests which he has supported continue to make headlines.
Earlier we brought you the news that Djokovic had gone from autocrat President Aleksandar Vucic’s favourite to a figure pilloried by the state-controlled press after he voiced support for the student-led demonstrations.
Now influential French daily L’Equipe has published a photo montage on its front page, showing a defiant Djokovic pasted over a student protest scene, with the headline “Novak Djokovic – popular and embarrassing” written on the Serbian flag.
The online version is headlined “Adored by the people, ignored by the authorities: Djokovic, symbol of a tense Serbia”.
The image of Djokovic in Wimbledon whites is taken from a recently repainted mural of the tennis legend in central Belgrade, after it was covered with black paint, as we reported earlier. The mural features the line “pump it”, the anti-government protest slogan. (At last year’s AO, we reported of Djokovic expressing support for the students – which was ignored in some Serbian media whose reporters were courtside.)
Street artist Andrej Josifovski, known as Pijanist, who painted the mural, told the newspaper: “Novak supported our protests in several ways. But it was discreet, through ‘likes’ or words.
This mural of Djokovic, captioned “PUMP IT, PUMP IT, why did you stop?!” – the slogan of anti-government protests – was repainted by Serbian street artist Andrej Josifovski in central Belgrade after it was completely covered with black paint. Credit: Instagram
“At Wimbledon he made the pumping gesture and everyone knew what it meant. That day I received a million messages in which people wrote to me, ‘Novak pumped!’ The very next day I painted this image on a wall, and it soon became a trend for people to come and take photos next to it.”
Serbian columnist Dejan Ilic, who had been charged with spreading panic after a guest TV appearance last year, said that Djokovic’s support for the students was neither strong nor explicit, but rather “modest, reasonable, and symbolic” but that young people experienced it as “disproportionately significant”.
“This shows how desperately the Serbian people need support for their actions, and yet we are still in the same place. I do not think his image has suffered because of this stance or that he has lost the support of the people, but this regime can contribute to that and has the power to shame him,” Ilic said.
Speaking in the Serbian-language press conference after his last Open match, Djokovic, who has moved his family, as well as the family-run tournament Belgrade Open to Athens, confirmed the tournament would likely never again be held in Serbia. The ATP will decide on its timing for 2026.
Last November, Djokovic triumphed at the inaugural Athens Open. His opponent? Today’s quarter-finalist Musetti.
