Displaying items by tag: Novak Djokovic

After 19-year-old Coco Gauff won her first Grand Slam title at the women’s tennis championship in the US Open on 9 September, she dropped to her knees, put her elbows on the bench, clasped her hands and brought them to her forehead with her eyes closed in prayer.Gauff said in an interview with NBC: ‘I was just saying thank you and I understood that all the tough times were just to make that moment even sweeter. I think if it came easy, I wouldn’t feel as appreciative as I did at that moment.’ Gauff has always been open about her Christian faith. Following her win in the Cincinnati Masters in August, she thanked her ‘Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ’ at the trophy ceremony. The men’s singles champion in the US Open, Serbian Novak Djokovic, is an Orthodox Christian who often wears a wooden cross around his neck and has been seen blessing himself during matches.

Tennis player Novak Djokovic wears a wooden cross and is known for praying during his matches. He received a visa to visit Australia on 18 November and arrived in Melbourne on 5 January with a Covid exemption approved by Tennis Australia's chief medical officer and a Victorian government independent expert panel. Novak belongs to the Serbian Orthodox church and on 7 January (the Orthodox Christmas Day) he was held in detention for an invalid visa while lawyers fought for his freedom. Three days later a judge ruled he could remain in Australia. Djokovic wants to play in the Australian Open, which begins on 17 January: if he won he would become the most successful men's player in history. However, Australia's immigration minister insists his recent Covid infection does not exempt him from vaccine requirements and could still deport him. He admitted that there were mistakes on his immigration forms and that he had met a journalist after testing positive for Covid.