Novak Djokovic gifts tennis racquet to contemporary visual artist Daniel Arsham

Novak Djokovic recently gifted a tennis racquet to contemporary American visual artist Daniel Arsham.

Arsham hails from Cleveland, Ohio. He received his formal education at the prestigious Design and Architecture High School before completing his advanced studies at The Cooper Union in New York City. He currently resides and works in New York.

Arsham and Djokovic are both part of the Swiss luxury watchmaker Hublot family. They were both appointed as brand ambassadors for the company.

On Thursday, April 27, Daniel Arsham expressed his gratitude on social media for receiving a signed racket from the World No. 1. He shared a picture of the gift, which was also posted by Novak Djokovic on his Instagram story.

"Pleasure 🙏," the Serb captioned his Instagram story.

Novak Djokovic's Instagram story

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Novak Djokovic wants to win his 23rd Grand Slam title at the French Open

Novak Djokovic with the 2021 French Open title

Following his defeat against Dusan Lajovic in the quarterfinals of the Srpska Open, Novak Djokovic made the decision to withdraw from the 2023 Madrid Open. This was a necessary step for the Serb to properly recover from his persistent elbow injury before returning to the court.

Throughout the tournament, the 35-year-old struggled with due to the nagging injury. He even resorted to wearing a sleeve over his elbow during his matches in Banja Luka.

During a post-match interview following his defeat, Djokovic expressed his disappointment with his performance. The World No. 1 admitted that he did not feel at his best on the court and was far too sluggish.

He also went on to express his concern about his ability to compete against high-quality opponents on clay if he continues to stay at this level.

"The loss is due to a combination of many things," the 22-time Grand Slam champion said.

"I can’t win against opponents who are so solid on this surface with this game. I didn’t even feel good physically on the court, I felt slow, with sluggish legs, I missed a lot of balls, and was totally out of shot. At times I played well, but well below my level."

Djokovic also made it clear that his ultimate goal is to win the 2023 French Open title. Last year, he started off slowly but steadily improved as the tournament progressed. The Serb is confident that he can follow the same trajectory of progress this year as well.

"It's no secret that you prepare and train for Roland Garros. The same thing happened last year, I had a very slow start to the tour and I started to play better towards the end of the tour," he said.

This year's French Open is set to begin on May 28.