The top-ranked tennis star met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Thursday (local time) and described the events in Australia as “unexpected,to say the least.”
“I wanted to meet with you today because,primarily as a citizen of Serbia,I felt a great need to thank you for great support that you,as the President of Serbia,gave me,as well as all state institutions during the unfortunate events in Australia,” Djokovic said.
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“Although I was alone in detention,and faced with many problems and challenges,I wasn’t feeling lonely. I had huge support primarily from my family,all of the close people in my life,entire Serbian nation,many people with good intentions from the region and the world.”
He did not speak about details of the events in Australia,promising to give his version”later.
Djokovic’s meeting with the increasingly autocratic Vucic drew criticism from some of his fans in the Balkan country,where he is generally considered an icon and a hero. The critics say Vucic used the event to boost his popularity ahead of general elections scheduled for April.
The meeting happened a day after Serbia’s state prosecutorsrejected suggestions voiced by some Western media that Djokovic used a fake positive test for COVID-19 to try to enter Australia.