Serb Novak Djokovic, who won his 21st Grand Slam title on Sunday after beating Australia’s Nick Kyrgios in the Wimbledon final, opened tennis courts in Bosnia’s Pyramid Park, which he visits regularly to “recharge his energy.”
Djokovic, known for his interest in New Testament spirituality, loves the mountain town of Visoko, where thousands of people flock every year to visit the pyramids, which some say are ancient, man-made and have healing powers, scientists say.
The 35-year-old Serbian player visited the site for the first time in 2020, calling it “heaven on earth”.
Djokovic has returned to the Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun at least four times, alone or with his family, always receiving a warm welcome from the founder of the complex, Samir Osmanavić.
According to Osmanavić, a Bosnian businessman and archaeologist, the idea of building a “regional training center” with two stadiums was born during the player’s last visit in March.
“This is a special day for Visoko, Bosnia, the whole region, tennis and sports,” the Serbian star said after arriving at the new center.
“The message of this day is peace, sport, future and health,” he added as hundreds of fans near the dense forest greeted him with a standing ovation.
On the occasion of the opening of the center, Djokovic played exhibition matches with Croatian Ivan Dodig, Slovenian Alyaz Bedene and local player Aldin Stikic.
With great relief, Djokovic put on an unusual show that made the audience laugh when he pretended to argue with the judges or try to “bribe” them.
“We just feel the energy here, each in our own way,” Deoko told reporters after the exhibition matches. “For me, this is one of the most active places on the planet, which I have seen a lot.”
“I just feel like every moment I spend here energizes me and empowers me to tackle the challenges ahead in tennis and in life,” he added.
The controversy continues around the former world number one as he ruled out the US Open in light of his commitment to ditch the Corona virus vaccine.
Under the laws currently in place in the United States, the Serb’s ongoing refusal of the Covid-19 vaccine means he cannot compete in the Flushing Meadows, the last Grand Slam scheduled for August 29 to September 11 next year.
And the Serbian had previously paid for his vaccine refusal with a deportation from Australia earlier this year, and thereby forfeited the opportunity to compete in the first Grand Slam tournament and forfeited his attempt to win his tenth title in Melbourne and was twenty-first in the Grand Slam at the time, but he made up for it at Wimbledon and finished second. The player with the most major titles is behind Rafael Nadal (22) and Roger Federer (20).
Source: El Iktisad