Djokovic s mural was vandalized in Serbia

The incident happened just a few weeks after Djokovic left his hometown to move to Athens, Greece with his family. A mural depicting him competing at this year's Wimbledon in central Belgrade was vandalized overnight by strangers smeared with black paint.

Serbian street artist Andrej Josifovski, the author of the painting, posted images before and after the painting was destroyed on social networks. He was indignant, saying he would find a way to respond to this incident, on behalf of Nole.

"Imagine a 'great patriot' wearing an orange shirt and cap, sneaking in the night, then stopping in front of Novak's picture. He looked straight into his eyes and threw paint in his face and body, " Josifovski wrote. "That is the "elite" youth of Serbia today. We have hit bottom a long time ago, and are now going down even deeper. Don't worry, brother Djokovic, we will retaliate, without masks, in broad daylight. "

In September of this year, Djokovic caused a stir when he decided to leave Serbia to find a new life in Greece. The decision was made after months of him being fiercely criticized by media close to the Serbian government for his political stance.

Tensions escalated from early August, when Djokovic brought the ATP 250 Belgrade Open tournament from his home country to Greece. This event moved to the OAKA multi-purpose arena in Athens, was renamed the Hellenic Championship and kicked off on November 2. This is a consequence of the disagreement between Nole and the Serbian government, especially President Aleksandar Vucic, about a number of policies and upcoming bills.

Just 12 months ago, Djokovic was welcomed as a hero when he returned to Serbia after winning the first Olympic gold medal of his career at the 2024 Olympics. At that time, the government announced plans to build a museum named after Djokovic.

However, relations between Nole and Serbia broke down after he publicly supported protests by students and groups opposed to Mr. Vucic. In March 2025, Djokovic posted a photo from a protest with about 300,000 people with the caption: "History, amazing ". Such protests were aimed at protesting against the government after the roof of the train station in Novi Sad collapsed, killing 16 people. The protest movement started at the end of 2024, spread to 400 cities and continued until early 2025.

When Djokovic celebrated victory after a match at Wimbledon 2025 by dancing, he was said to be referring to the slogan "Pump " in student protests. Nole also appeared at a basketball match earlier this year, wearing a sweater with the words "Students are champions".

After moving to the southern suburbs of Athens, Djokovic enrolled his two children at the British international private school Saint Lawrence College in September. Last month, he was seen playing tennis with his son Stefan at the Kavouri tennis club, wearing slippers and happily taking photos with Greek fans.

Traditional Greek media said Djokovic is considering applying for a Golden Visa - a settlement visa through investment. He met Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis twice before enrolling his children in school.

As for the Serbian government, President Vucic tried to cool tensions, affirming he would never speak ill of Djokovic. But the incident still shocked public opinion in Serbia, where the tennis player with a record of 24 Grand Slams has been considered a national pride for more than a decade.