In pictures: Novak Djokovic attends friendly basketball match between Slovenia and Serbia
Former World No. 1 Novak Djokovic attended a friendly basketball match between Slovenia and Serbia on Wednesday.
The tennis ace looked cheerful and enjoyed the proceedings from the sidelines. Serbia lost out in a thriller against Slovenia, with NBA superstar Luka Doncic-leading Slovenia to a 97-92 (17-21, 28-21, 19-21, 11-6) win.
Dressed in a white shirt and green shade pants, Djokovic was the cynosure of all eyes at the friendly basketball match.
Srbije večeras u Ljubljani je i @DjokerNole 
Uz tim 🇷🇸 Srbije večeras u Ljubljani je i @DjokerNole 🏀🎾🏆 https://t.co/kaP52Qom3d
Luka Doncic of Slovenia scored 34 points on 11-for-20 shooting, making eight two-pointers out of 11. He also had six rebounds, made nine assists, and forced nine fouls for an overall PIR of 33.
Serbia's Nikola Jokic was not far behind with 26 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, and 13 forced fouls for 31 PIR. Djokovic met Luka Doncic of Slovenia during the match and the pair exchanged pleasantries.
The pair hugged each other as the crowd cheered on for them.
As the match went down to the wire, Djokovic was seen soaking in the atmosphere and appeared tense at one point during the game as his nation's team lost the friendly match.
Novak Djokovic's US Open participation still in limbo
The Serbian tennis ace's participation in the season's last Grand Slam, the US Open, remains in limbo. The 21-Grand Slam winner has not been vaccinated against COVID-19 and has explicitly stated that he has no plans to get vaccinated either.
The tennis world is divided over whether Djokovic should play at the US Open or not, but many have been voicing their support in favor of the star. The US has made it mandatory for foreign travelers to show proof of vaccination in order to enter the country.
With Canada having similar rules too, the 35-year-old has been forced to miss the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Masters event and has not been in action since defending his Wimbledon title.
However, what comes as a ray of hope is the modifications the USA's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has made to their COVID-19 guidelines.
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I just wanted to take a moment and say to all of you how grateful I am to see so many messages of support and love from all around the world these days. 🙏🏼
I wasn’t expecting it, and that’s why it feels so mindblowing. Just wanted to say THANK YOU. 🙏🏼❤️
The new guidelines now state that unvaccinated individuals should no longer be treated differently to vaccinated ones. The guidelines add that anyone who has been exposed to the novel coronavirus does not need to quarantine and screening for unsymptomatic carriers has been taken away.
Although the new rule is only for US citizens at this point in time, it still offers a ray of hope for Novak Djokovic as the coronavirus prevention guidelines could have more amendments in the near future.