By Ion Axinescu
Copyright euroweeklynews
Novak Djokovic, the tennis legend with 24 Grand Slams to his name, has left Belgrade and decided to move into another European country.
Nole swapped the Serbian capital for the Aegean, uprooting his family from Serbia and settling into a new life in Athens after a bruising fallout with his homeland’s political elite.
Novak Djokovic moved to Greece
The 38-year-old has quietly enrolled his two children (Stefan, 11, and Tara, 8) at St. Lawrence College, an elite international school in the Greek capital.
His wife Jelena has been spotted shopping in Glyfada, the couple’s new coastal neighbourhood, while Novak himself has already been seen hitting balls at the Kavouri Tennis Club. Locals say the Djokovics are blending into life in Athens, greeted warmly by residents who stop him for selfies on the promenade.
The backstory: A fallout with Serbia’s political regime
But behind the sunshine move lies a stormy backstory. Djokovic has faced fierce criticism in Serbia for voicing support for mass protests against President Aleksandar Vucic.
When he backed student demonstrations after a deadly train station collapse that killed 16, regime-friendly media branded him a “false patriot.” The smear campaign intensified when he condemned police violence, leaving him increasingly isolated in his homeland.
Building his new life in Athens
Now, Athens appears to be more than a refuge. Djokovic has purchased property in Glyfada and is reportedly seeking Greece’s “golden visa,” a residency scheme for big investors. He’s also considering launching a tennis academy on the Riviera, and the ATP 250 event once hosted in Belgrade will debut this November in Athens under his family’s management.
For the most decorated man in tennis, Greece represents a fresh chapter. All in all, the whole move feels like something out of a thriller movie: a superstar escaping the politics of home, reinventing himself on the shores of the Mediterranean.
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