Novak Đoković passed the first round for the twentieth time in his career Wimbledon. The best tennis player of all time, who won this tournament seven times, at the beginning of the competition defeated the French Alexander Muller with 3:1 in sets.
He celebrated the victory with a smile with a pumping gesture, which met with general enthusiasm in the rebellious part of Serbian society.
He explained the gesture at the press conference.
"It's between me and my children. We have two songs that we've been listening to lately. We were talking that that choreography could be suitable for every victory at Wimbledon. That's how I'll celebrate in the future at Wimbledon. It's a symbolic parallel! One is a foreign song, the dance hit 'Pump It Up', and the other is 'Throw everything out', when at one point he says 'pump, pump, why did you stop,'" said Djokovic.
In December of last year, Djokovic on his X account supported the students who are protesting and demanding responsibility for the tragedy that happened at the train station in Novi Sad when 15 people died.
"As someone who deeply believes in the strength of young people and their desire for a better future, I think it is important that their voice be heard. Serbia has enormous potential, and educated youth is its greatest strength. What we all need is understanding and respect. With you, Novak," Djokovic said in a post on the X social network.
During 2025, Djokovic publicly supported the student protests in Serbia several times, so he went from being a Serbian icon to a role model for all young Serbs in government circles and in the regime media, becoming a person whose mention should be avoided.
"I follow what is happening in Serbia, not exactly everything, but I follow a lot through social networks - I can't pretend that nothing is happening. Although I am in Australia, of course I am affected by things like what happened the other day with Sonja, I hope that she will recover quickly and return home," said the Serbian tennis player at the press conference after the victory over Lehečka in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Then he added that it was a big defeat for "us as a society, Serbian society in general".
"My support always goes to young people, students and all those to whom the future of our country belongs," Djokovic said.
The most prominent moment was on March 15 of this year, when he shared photos from a large protest in Belgrade on his Instagram profile, with the message: "History! Magnificent."
Also, in 2021, Djokovic shared a photo from a protest against the intentions of the Rio Tinto company to exploit lithium in Serbia with the help of ruling bars, writes 021.
"Clean air, water and food are the keys to health. Without it, any word about 'health' is redundant!" he wrote.
He added another photo with the message "Nature is our mother. We spend more time in nature. With her and with her, our life is richer."
Bogdanović's support for students
The captain of the basketball team of Serbia, Bogdan Bogdanović, stood with the students, and on March 15, he shared a photo of the student protest taken from the air on his Instagram account with the comment: "The biggest gathering in the history of Serbia, but for real."
Bogdanović has previously expressed his support for student protests.
The students were also supported by Aleksa Avramović, Nikola Kalinić and Marko Gudurić, so if the basketball team, like everything else, is based on the key of loyalty to Aleksandar Vučić, the question is who will play alongside Nikola Jokić in it.
Among the athletes who are with the students is one of the best Serbian basketball players, Tina Krajišnik.
Solidarity of Serbian athletes with students
On the eve of the protest that took place on March 15 in Belgrade, the legends of Serbian sports such as Aleksandar Đorđević, Vlada Divac, Veselin Vujović and Igor Butulija provided great support to the students and dissatisfied citizens...
Andrija Prlainović and Dušan Mandić represented the water polo community with emotional messages and participation in protests, while volleyball players Andrija Gerić and Vanja Grbić also actively participated in supporting student movements, writes "Danas".
Support was also provided by the celebrated Serbian athlete Ivana Španović, who shared a video from the protest on her Instagram account.
"Your job, salary and career are for nothing if you are deaf to your heart. Life is short. And you live it as if it will last for centuries. And that will pass...", Španović wrote.
Jokić without comment on the protests
In a guest appearance on RTS last December, Vučić spoke about the athletes who supported the protests.
"These are the same people who said that at the time of lithium... There is no one new, tell me who is new," he said.
"The protest against lithium was supported by Novak Đoković and Ivana Španović... And Željko Obradović, he was against us every time, there is nothing secret and new. And Bogdan Bogdanović, when it came to lithium. What about Nikola Jokić or Neđo Jovanović? Their right, I have no problem, it's democracy, dear one... I accept it sportingly, but don't take away my right to think differently," said Vučić.
Nikola Jokić, as one of the most famous and influential Serbian athletes on the global scene, has not publicly expressed his position on the student protests in Serbia until now.
