Novak Djokovic lauds soccer star Luka Jovic’s heroics as Serbia snatch late draw against Slovenia at Euro 2024

Novak Djokovic showed his support for his fellow countryman Luka Jovic, who scored a dramatic equalizer for Serbia against Slovenia in their Euro 2024 Group C clash on Thursday (June 20). Djokovic praised Jovic’s last-minute header that kept Serbia’s hopes of reaching the knockout stage alive.

Serbia were trailing 1-0 to Slovenia in Munich, thanks to Zan Karnicnik’s goal in the 69th minute, and looked set to suffer their second defeat in the tournament. However, in the fifth minute of added time, substitute Jovic rose to meet Ivan Ilic’s corner and nodded the ball into the bottom corner, sparking wild celebrations among the Serbian players and fans.

The Serbia are fourth and last in the group with one point, one behind third-placed Slovenia and three behind leaders England. They will face Team Denmark in their final group match on Monday.

The 37-year-old, who is currently rehabilitating the knee injury he sustained during his quest for the 25th Grand Slam title at the French Open, was delighted with Jovic’s goal and shared his joy on Instagram. The Serb posted a picture of the scorecard with Jovic’s image, writing:

"Idemoooo (Let’s go in Serbian)" and tagged Luka Jovic.

The Serb's Instagram story (instagram.com/djokernole/)

The 24-time Grand Slam champion has a strong connection with soccer and often plays the sport as part of his training routine. He has also attended major soccer events such as the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris, where he presented the women’s award to Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati.

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Novak Djokovic once opened up about his aspirations if he were to be a professional soccer player

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic answered several hypothetical questions, about the players he would love to team up with, his dream trophy, and more if he were a professional soccer player, in a playful Q&A session with '433,' in January 2023.

The Serb said he would either play for his hometown club, Red Star Belgrade, or for AC Milan when asked about his preferred football team.

"It would be my home team, Red Star Belgrade or it would be AC Milan."

The 37-year-old struggled to pick one player that he would enjoy playing with when asked about his favorite teammate.

"Wow, that's a tough one. I got to pick more than one. Ibrahimovic is a dear friend of mine, so I'd love to play with him and obviously Messi, Ronaldo, obvious and from the older guys, Batistuta," he asserted.

The Serb did not hesitate to say that he would love to win the World Cup for his country when asked about his dream trophy as a footballer.

"World Cup, sure... for Serbia," he expressed.

The Olympic Committee of Serbia recently announced that Novak Djokovic will participate in the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris. The Serb won Olympic bronze in Beijing 2008.