It was thought that Novak Djokovic's Roland-Garros launch was not accompanied by any story on Monday. It was a misunderstanding of the world number 3, yet solid winner of the American (of Serbian origin) Aleksandar Kovacevic (6-3, 6-2, 7-6) in the first round. At the time of leaving the Philippe Chatrier court, the one who has just launched in Paris the conquest of a 23rd Grand Slam tournament, has distinguished himself with a gesture that will animate the debates of this beginning of Roland-Garros.


Djokovic wrote "Kosovo is the heart of Serbia! Stop violence" on the camera after his win today at #RG23 as tensions flare up anew in the region.

https://t.co/4gLSXg5wbo pic.twitter.com/A6ciqPX2WI

— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) May 29, 2023

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The 36-year-old took a few moments to write a message in white marker on the traditional camera dedicated to the dedications of the players. Except that Novak Djokovic wrote, in Cyrillic, a clearly political message on this camera, namely "Kosovo is the heart of Serbia! Stop the violence." This unexpected episode took place on Monday afternoon, as tensions between Serbia and Kosovo have increased in recent weeks, obviously over Kosovo's self-proclaimed independence.

Djokovic had already taken a stand in Australia as early as 2008.

Serbian armed units have just moved closer to the border with Kosovo, on the orders of President Aleksandar Vucic. This came after clashes between protesters and police in a Serb-majority town in Kosovo. This news condemned by the France, but also Great Britain, Italy, Germany and the United States, has therefore pushed Novak Djokovic to take a stand, relay this Monday Serbian media.



This is not the first time since in his first Grand Slam victory, at the Australian Open in 2008, "Nole" had proclaimed "Kosovo is Serbia", in support of a gathering in Belgrade. We are curious to see how the organizers of Roland-Garros will react, since the tournament charter prohibits players from publicly displaying political or religious opinions. Not sure that there will be much talk in the coming days of his second round against the Hungarian Marton Fucsovics.

  • Roland-Garros 2023
  • Tennis
  • Novak Djokovic
  • Sport
  • Serbia
  • Kosovo
  • World