Novak Djokovic felicitated as an honorary citizen of town in Montenegro
Novak Djokovic was bestowed with honorary citizenship by a town in Montenegro on January 28, 2022. He was given a plaque declaring him an honorary citizen of Budva, a picturesque town on the Adriatic Sea.
The World No. 1 has a special relationship with the country of Montenegro, even getting married there in 2014. Plenty of people gathered near the town hall on Friday to witness the citizenship ceremony and to cheer for the Serb.
Djokovic was accompanied by his parents and Mayor Marko Carevic thanked him in a short speech as he bestowed him with the honor.
"You have demonstrated through your efforts and work what it means to fight for family and people. Novak, we have no words to thank you for being here today. You, with your hard work, have shown what it is like to fight for your family, for your people and, what is certain, you have never distanced yourself from your people. With much love and respect, we want to call you our new honorary citizen."
Djokovic has spent the last few days traveling around Montenegro. He visited the Ostrog Orthodox Monastery and even met with Joanikije, the Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
The citizenship ceremony was the World No. 1's first major public appearance following the visa scandal, which led to him being deported from Australia and unable to compete in the season's first Grand Slam. He hasn't played at all this year but is set to make a much awaited return to the tour in February.
Novak Djokovic set to begin his 2022 season at the Dubai Tennis Championships
Fans will have to wait a few more weeks to see World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in action again. He will make his return to competitive tennis at the 2022 Dubai Tennis Championships. The tournament is to be held from February 21-26 and will be his first of the season. He hasn't competed since last year's Davis Cup finals.
The Serb is a five-time champion at the tournament, winning his most recent title there in 2020. Three other top-10 players, World No. 6 Andrey Rublev, World No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime and World No. 10 Jannik Sinner, are also set to compete at the event.
ATP500 Dubai entry list incl. Novak Djokovic https://t.co/Goxj9lYTS7