Former Serbian tennis player, Bojana Jovanovski, has expressed support for her compatriot, tennis star Novak Djokovic, adding that he was subjected to an "injustice", with which Serbs have become all too familiar when he was stripped of his Australian visa.
"But at least we are used to injustice, and regardless of the outcome of this humiliating agony that was prepared for you, you are not alone – you are our greatest pride. It is up to you now to fight for justice no matter what and no matter the outcome – to do your best in that fight."
Jovanovski went on to draw parallels between the sports star's recent fight against the Australian authorities and regulations and the "injustice" that they both saw their country go through during their childhood when NATO bombed then-Yugoslavia in 1999.
Djokovic spent several months in a shelter when he was 12-years-old hiding from the NATO bombardment, which had been launched under the pretext of the need to drive Yugoslav/Serbian armed forces from the Kosovo region.
"Bombs were thrown by world powers at civilian facilities in our city and our youngest fellow citizens and friends were killed. Now the world's powerful are putting pressure on you to give up, because in other [ways] – in a fair and sporty way – no one can defeat you", Jovanovski wrote in her Twitter post addressing Djokovic.
Bojana Jovanovski also opined that Djokovic was waging a fight against "world powers" and "sport against politics" when he tried to challenge the Australian authorities' decision to revoke his visa. She added that his opponents "obviously won’t stop hating you" because they were "small, jealous and dissatisfied with their lives". She further urged him not to give up and fight with renewed vigour.
Djokovic had his visa revoked by the Australian foreign minister after the country's court defended the unvaccinated athlete's right to participate in the Australia Open championship, which he has been successively winning in recent years. Australia has strict rules for all who try to enter the country, requiring them to confirm their vaccination status. Djokovic, however, arrived in Australia after being led to believe he was justly exempt from the rule. He tried to appeal Canberra's attempt to revoke his visa, winning in the first instance and losing in the second.