"Not just a war-mongering Serbian, but also an avid supporter of Israeli apartheid, disgrace to tennis, even bigger disgrace to humanity," - Tennis fans react to Novak Djokovic's move to play in Tel Aviv
Novak Djokovic has stirred up controversy yet again after news emerged that the Serb will take part in the Tel Aviv Open next month.
Djokovic, who missed the entire US Open swing owing to his unvaccinated status, has not been seen in action since winning his seventh Wimbledon title and will return to action at the Davis Cup after the US Open followed by the Laver Cup.
The Serb's latest move, which involves playing in Israel, has divided the tennis fraternity, with even Djokovic's fans voicing varying opinions with regard to the decision.
Describing the 21-time Grand Slam champion as a "war-mongering Serbian," a Twitter user made his views clear in no uncertain terms.
Not just a war mongering Serbian but also an avid supporter of the Israeli apartheid. Disgrace to tennis and an even bigger disgrace to humanity. twitter.com/ozmo_sasa/stat…
"Not just a war-mongering Serbian, but also an avid supporter of the Israeli apartheid. Disgrace to tennis and an even bigger disgrace to humanity," a tennis fan stated.
Those sympathetic to the Palestinian cause made no attempt to mask their sentiments after being incensed by Novak Djokovic's decision to be a part of the ATP event in Tel Aviv.
@ozmo_sasa Free Palestine
@ozmo_sasa For the first time ever, @DjokerNole let's me down 😞💔
@ozmo_sasa please reconsider @DjokerNole
free palestine
Delving deep into the possible repurcussions of the Serb's decision, a user on the social media site opined that athletes need to keep in mind geopolitical realities and seemed to indicate that Djokovic was contradicting what he stands for.
@ozmo_sasa So he must know that he will lose most of his supporters in the Middle East region.
Athletes should put in considration the geopolitical issues so as not to affect their popularity.
Novak always talks about injustice while going to the largest occupation settlement in history.
"So he must know that he will lose most of his supporters in the Middle East region. Athletes should put in considration the geopolitical issues so as not to affect their popularity. Novak always talks about injustice while going to the largest occupation settlement in history."
Not everyone was in agreement, though, with another individual countering the above view on the grounds that athletes would stand to lose out by getting immersed in politics.
, 
, 
, 
… except that he doesn’t. @leomido16 @ozmo_sasa He also loses most of his supporters when he steps his foot into 🇺🇸, 🇬🇧, 🇩🇪, 🇯🇵… except that he doesn’t.
Once an athlete starts considering geopolitical issues as decision-making factors, s/he quickly runs out of places to perform in.
"He also loses most of his supporters when he steps his foot into the US, UK, Germany, or Japan except that he doesn't. Once an athlete starts considering geopolitical issues as decision-making factors, she/he quickly runs out of places to perform in."
Unmoved by the controversy, the former World No. 1's ardent fans continued to show support for their idol, while others thought the furore was uncalled for.
Here are some more reactions from fans:
@kxcii @ozmo_sasa @DjokerNole He’s just doing his job. We gotta stop bringing out politics into everything
@ozmo_sasa Great news! Can't wait🤩
it's like he's playing controversy bingo at this point twitter.com/ozmo_sasa/stat…
Sofia Open is literally during the same week and we, bulgarians are literally neighbours and good friends with serbians. So sad honestly... twitter.com/ozmo_sasa/stat…
No stranger to controversy - Novak Djokovic
From organizing the Adria Tour at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, to being disqualified from the 2020 US Open for hitting the ball towards a female official, Novak Djokovic never seems out of reach of controversy in some form or the other.
@ZerlinaMaxwell LOVE IT! He's already caused irreparable damage with that Adria Tour disaster in Spring 2020, and with the international incident he caused at the Aussie Open in January. Glad he's NOT gonna be in NYC
The 35-year-old's refusal to get vaccinated was preceded by another headline-generating move earlier in 2020. The Serb assembled a series of exhibition matches in Belgrade, Serbia, and Crotia at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic had effectively shut down tennis all over the world.
Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, who was a participant on the Adria tour, tested positive for the coronavirus, following which the event had to be cut short when more players contracted the virus.
Novak Djokovic continued to be in the headlines throughout 2022 as well, after being disallowed to play at the Australian Open. He then missed out on the early-season North American hardcourt swing and the summer US Open swing.