After early exit from Miami Open, and two week pause until Estoril (Portugal), Novak took time to visit Gustavo Kuerten's (triple champion of Roland Gaross) fare-well-to-tennis party in Miami, along with Juan Carlos Ferrero, Alberto Costa, Nicolas Lapentti and Magnus Norman. Novak then flew back to Europe and his home town Belgrade.
Today, Wednesday April 02, it has been announced that Belgrade will likely host a WTA Tier II $750.000 tournament in 2009 where Ana Ivanovic (WTA World #2) and Jelena Jankovic (WTA World #3) should participate in. Novak and his family have expressed their wishes to invest $10 million in buying land to build tennis facilities for hosting an ATP tournament in Belgrade. Novak will likely spend time in Belgrade to talk with the city officials on that matter.
Novak has also appeared in the April's addition of 'Mens Vogue' where a reporter visited Novak in Belgrade and interview him. In an extended text that was a combination of an 'amusing' travel journal and a rather unpleasant moments Novak was brought to, the author presented Novak's home country as a country with broken economy devostated with wars where Novak is a nation's 'redeemer'.
Here is what Novak had to say about his popularity: 'People recognize me and I don't want to say bother me but they just come up. It's not really relaxing. All eyes on you'.
Journalist made an unpleasant situation when turning the subject to politics, and related Novak's 'three fingers' salutation after the victories with 'war death squads'.
Novak said: I'm not extremist. Three fingers is our symbol. It's like you have two fingers for peace. Three fingers is for us, for Serbia. That's what all the people throughout the history of this country did, when they are successful and when they want to show where they're from'.
The author then, right after Novak's words, put in parenthesis that what Novak said is not true and, as author states: 'the salute was popularized in the early 1990s by a a nationalism intellectual'. (the real meaning of 3 fingers dates from the year of 1054, and is a Christian sign for Christian Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit).
The text and choice of questions were as paculiar and surprising as they could have been considering it was for 'Mens Vogue' (fashion/lifestyle magazine!?), the author took time to fly to Belgrade, write a prolonged monologue with only handful words coming back from Novak, the author could have written the text from home and ask Novak those few questions in a 5mins telephone conversation as well.
After Novak won the season's first Master Series tournament in Indian Wells, and saw early exit in Miami after which most commentators, including Novak himself, pointed out he did not take enough time to rest and was physically too exhausted, Novak said he will take more time to rest after Miami.
Though, Novak attended Gustavo's farewell party.. flew back to Europe... tomorrow will take a 400km car trip to the south of his home country that will be covered by all media.. in all, being a World celebrity gives little time for Novak to rest.
