<p>Novak Djokovic, who won a sixth Wimbledon and record-equalling 20th major on Sunday, is regarded as a beloved sports hero in both his native Serbia and throughout the former Yugoslavia.</p>.<p>Tennis fans and the general public in the region, tormented by a series of wars in the 1990s that accompanied Yugoslavia's collapse, cheer for the Serb who is known for his humanitarian work as much as for his sports success.</p>.<p>Donations he made in 2014 to Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia, hit by catastrophic floods, as well as appeals to help them are still remembered.</p>.<p>At the time Djokovic said on Twitter that his "heart breaks" when he sees how many people had to be evacuated due to floods in Bosnia.</p>.<p>"Long live all the people of former Yugoslavia. May God be with you," he tweeted.</p>.<p><strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/tennis/djokovic-wins-wimbledon-to-tie-federer-nadal-with-20-slams-1007546.html" target="_blank">Read | Djokovic wins Wimbledon to tie Federer, Nadal with 20 Slams</a></strong></p>.<p>He made donations to Serbia to help fight the coronavirus pandemic but also donated ventilators to neighbouring Montenegro.</p>.<p>"'Nole' represents us all, us Serbs, but also our neighbours Croats, Muslims, all," said bank employee Kristina Popovic.</p>.<p>"He is always there for us which explains his popularity everywhere in the region," the 27-year-old from Belgrade told AFP.</p>.<p>In Croatia and Bosnia, whose ties with Serbia remain tense since the 1990s wars, Djokovic is widely respected and liked.</p>.<p>For Semir Osmanagic, founder of Bosnia's controversial Pyramid Park, visited by Djokovic three times since mid-2020, the tennis star has "achieved more on communication and understanding between people (in former Yugoslavia) than some politicians ... who are mostly dividing us".</p>.<p>Djokovic, who is known for his new-age spiritual interests, hailed the site, which large number of people believe has healing powers, as a "paradise on earth".</p>.<p>Since Djokovic's visits thousands of Serbs have flocked there, Osmanagic said.</p>.<p><strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/tennis/novak-djokovic-beats-matteo-berrettini-to-win-his-6th-wimbledon-title-equals-federer-nadal-on-20-grand-slams-1007494.html" target="_blank">Read | Novak Djokovic beats Matteo Berrettini to win his 6th Wimbledon title; equals Federer, Nadal on 20 Grand Slams</a></strong></p>.<p>His father Srdjan Djokovic said in 2020 that his son considered all countries that emerged after Yugoslavia's break-up as his own.</p>.<p>"He never made any difference between them notably when there was a need to help people."</p>.<p>Croatia's former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic is Djokovic's coach while local media often highlight that his mother is of Croatian origins.</p>.<p>The 34-year-old Serb often spends his summer vacation on Croatia's coast that he labelled a "jewel" and the "most beautiful in the world".</p>.<p>"I always felt good (in Croatia), people were always receiving me nicely and was always welcome," he told local media in 2019.</p>.<p>Like Croatians cheer for Djokovic, he himself backs top Croatian athletes as he did during the 2018 World Cup, where Croatia finished runners-up.</p>.<p>The same year, the then Croatian president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic on Facebook described Djokovic as a "great man and athlete, to enter Wimbledon finals" and published a photo with him.</p>.<p>But his support of the Croatia squad, which he labelled "logical", sparked criticism in some media and on social networks in Serbia.</p>.<p><strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/tennis/novak-djokovic-and-his-six-winning-wimbledon-finals-1007547.html" target="_blank">Read | Novak Djokovic and his six winning Wimbledon finals</a></strong></p>.<p>"Whom will I support if not Croatia? I simply feel that Croatians are mine," he told local media in 2019.</p>.<p>Djokovic has kept very firm ties to his native Belgrade where he frequently returns and meets his childhood friends.</p>.<p>Just days after his second victory at the French Open last month he arrived in the Serbian capital to attend the wedding of one of them.</p>.<p>"He never forgot his origins, that's why I like him even more," said pastry cook Nedeljko Savic.</p>.<p>Also, Djokovic has invested in Serbia where he has restaurants and notably a tennis centre in Belgrade which carries his name.</p>.<p>The Novak Tennis Centre, in the heart of the capital, will be the basis of a future tennis academy that Djokovic plans to set up.</p>.<p>He has also created the charitable Novak Djokovic Foundation, headed by his wife Jelena, supporting early childhood education.</p>
<p>Novak Djokovic, who won a sixth Wimbledon and record-equalling 20th major on Sunday, is regarded as a beloved sports hero in both his native Serbia and throughout the former Yugoslavia.</p>.<p>Tennis fans and the general public in the region, tormented by a series of wars in the 1990s that accompanied Yugoslavia's collapse, cheer for the Serb who is known for his humanitarian work as much as for his sports success.</p>.<p>Donations he made in 2014 to Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia, hit by catastrophic floods, as well as appeals to help them are still remembered.</p>.<p>At the time Djokovic said on Twitter that his "heart breaks" when he sees how many people had to be evacuated due to floods in Bosnia.</p>.<p>"Long live all the people of former Yugoslavia. May God be with you," he tweeted.</p>.<p><strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/tennis/djokovic-wins-wimbledon-to-tie-federer-nadal-with-20-slams-1007546.html" target="_blank">Read | Djokovic wins Wimbledon to tie Federer, Nadal with 20 Slams</a></strong></p>.<p>He made donations to Serbia to help fight the coronavirus pandemic but also donated ventilators to neighbouring Montenegro.</p>.<p>"'Nole' represents us all, us Serbs, but also our neighbours Croats, Muslims, all," said bank employee Kristina Popovic.</p>.<p>"He is always there for us which explains his popularity everywhere in the region," the 27-year-old from Belgrade told AFP.</p>.<p>In Croatia and Bosnia, whose ties with Serbia remain tense since the 1990s wars, Djokovic is widely respected and liked.</p>.<p>For Semir Osmanagic, founder of Bosnia's controversial Pyramid Park, visited by Djokovic three times since mid-2020, the tennis star has "achieved more on communication and understanding between people (in former Yugoslavia) than some politicians ... who are mostly dividing us".</p>.<p>Djokovic, who is known for his new-age spiritual interests, hailed the site, which large number of people believe has healing powers, as a "paradise on earth".</p>.<p>Since Djokovic's visits thousands of Serbs have flocked there, Osmanagic said.</p>.<p><strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/tennis/novak-djokovic-beats-matteo-berrettini-to-win-his-6th-wimbledon-title-equals-federer-nadal-on-20-grand-slams-1007494.html" target="_blank">Read | Novak Djokovic beats Matteo Berrettini to win his 6th Wimbledon title; equals Federer, Nadal on 20 Grand Slams</a></strong></p>.<p>His father Srdjan Djokovic said in 2020 that his son considered all countries that emerged after Yugoslavia's break-up as his own.</p>.<p>"He never made any difference between them notably when there was a need to help people."</p>.<p>Croatia's former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic is Djokovic's coach while local media often highlight that his mother is of Croatian origins.</p>.<p>The 34-year-old Serb often spends his summer vacation on Croatia's coast that he labelled a "jewel" and the "most beautiful in the world".</p>.<p>"I always felt good (in Croatia), people were always receiving me nicely and was always welcome," he told local media in 2019.</p>.<p>Like Croatians cheer for Djokovic, he himself backs top Croatian athletes as he did during the 2018 World Cup, where Croatia finished runners-up.</p>.<p>The same year, the then Croatian president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic on Facebook described Djokovic as a "great man and athlete, to enter Wimbledon finals" and published a photo with him.</p>.<p>But his support of the Croatia squad, which he labelled "logical", sparked criticism in some media and on social networks in Serbia.</p>.<p><strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/tennis/novak-djokovic-and-his-six-winning-wimbledon-finals-1007547.html" target="_blank">Read | Novak Djokovic and his six winning Wimbledon finals</a></strong></p>.<p>"Whom will I support if not Croatia? I simply feel that Croatians are mine," he told local media in 2019.</p>.<p>Djokovic has kept very firm ties to his native Belgrade where he frequently returns and meets his childhood friends.</p>.<p>Just days after his second victory at the French Open last month he arrived in the Serbian capital to attend the wedding of one of them.</p>.<p>"He never forgot his origins, that's why I like him even more," said pastry cook Nedeljko Savic.</p>.<p>Also, Djokovic has invested in Serbia where he has restaurants and notably a tennis centre in Belgrade which carries his name.</p>.<p>The Novak Tennis Centre, in the heart of the capital, will be the basis of a future tennis academy that Djokovic plans to set up.</p>.<p>He has also created the charitable Novak Djokovic Foundation, headed by his wife Jelena, supporting early childhood education.</p>