Djokovic sheds tears in Belgrade after beating Zverev on Day 2

He may not have qualified for the final of his Adria Tour exhibition event, but Novak Djokovic finished the week a winner regardless, beating Alexander Zverev in his final round-robin match, 4-0, 1-4, 4-2.

Djokovic’s countryman, Filip Krajinovic, instead advanced to face Austria’s Dominic Thiem in the final. Djokovic, Zverev and Krajinovic not only all ended up with 2-1 win-loss records in their round-robin group, they were all also 5-3 in sets. But Krajinovic had the best games differential of the three. There was no need for tiebreaker rules in the other round-robin group: Thiem was a flawless 3-0.

Djokovic fought back tears during his on-court interview after his win over Zverev on Sunday.

“I’m not crying because I got knocked out of the tournament, I’m just overwhelmed by emotion because this reminds me of my childhood,” he said in front of a packed home crowd. “It’s been an emotional few days. I want to thank everyone who made this possible. The important thing after this match is that we have one of our own in the final. I love you all and thank you so much for turning up.”

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There was a big emphasis on engaging the fans, and particularly the young fans, throughout the event - and for Djokovic, that element made the Adria Tour stop in Belgrade even more special.

He was asked about some of his most memorable moments with his fans during the week.

“Oh, there were many,” Djokovic said. “I was so grateful to receive some wonderful artwork as presents - we have a lot of young, creative, inspired people who create some amazing art, and they’ve been giving some amazing artwork and drawings for me and my team. Those are the things I really, truly appreciate, when someone puts in the time and energy to create something unique.

“As athletes, we love to play in front of our fans. Obviously tennis is our love, passion and work, but when we have an opportunity to play in such an atmosphere in front of so many fans, it brings the level of excitement and feeling connected to this sport to a completely different dimension. The fans here were phenomenal. They were absolutely amazing. I’m truly, truly honored and very thankful.”

The world No. 1 wasn’t the only one who felt his spirits lifted by the fans this week.

Thiem, who fell to Djokovic in the Australian Open final this year and reached a new career-high of No. 3 right before the tour was suspended in March, was thrilled to be back in front of a crowd.

“It’s amazing that the crowd is back,” he said. “I already played seven matches in Austria. We had a tournament, but without any crowd. It’s amazing that we get this feeling again, this atmosphere. We’ve had an amazing welcome, and the fans have been super nice to us.”

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After a late-night win over Viktor Troicki on Saturday, Zverev praised the fans directly.

“Thanks for staying out even though it’s past midnight now,” he said in his on-court interview. “When we started this tournament, we didn’t know if we’d be allowed spectators or not. Now that we are, it really means a lot that you guys all stayed out past midnight to watch tennis and support the players.”

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And Jelena Jankovic, who hadn’t played since 2017 due to injury, gave a shout-out to the Serbian fans in particular after returning to the court for a mixed doubles match with Djokovic on Friday.

“The atmosphere was really awesome,” she said. “Novak invited a lot of great top players to come here, so our Serbian crowd was able to see those players who play at such a high level live, which is a unique moment for them. We’ve all been in quarantine, but we’re a sporting nation—we love sports and we love to be out here, and a lot of people came out here to see these great athletes perform.”

Emese Kardhordo contributed to this report.