One of the best places for Serbians to perform: Novak Djokovic on Srpska Open

Sarajevo [Bosnia and Herzegovina], April 18 : Novak Djokovic was clear that he wanted to quickly move on from his third-round defeat at the Monte-Carlo Masters last week against Lorenzo Musetti. The World No. 1 will have his chance to do so in Banja Luka.

The Serbian superstar is the top seed this week at the Srpska Open. Djokovic explained that he has enjoyed the atmosphere in Bosnia & Herzegovina since he first visited the country more than a decade ago.

"The people welcome me wholeheartedly with great reception and so much love and support. So I'm super excited to be here because I think it's one of the best places for us Serbian tennis players and athletes in general to be able to perform where we have so much love and support from local people," Djokovic was quoted as saying by ATP.com in a press conference.

It was evident during practise on Monday how excited the local fans were to even catch a glimpse of Djokovic. A sizable group of spectators gathered behind barricades to see the Serbian warm up for the ATP 250.

"It feels great to be here. I've been to Banja Luka several times in the past, once to visit the president and to receive a medal of honor and then the second time was in 2009, I played with Viktor Troicki an exhibition match in an indoor facility here," Djokovic said. "So I remember those couple of visits really fondly."

Djokovic has had a strong start to the season despite his defeat by Musetti. The 35-year-old has a 16-2 record in 2023, winning the Australian Open and Adelaide.

Djokovic, a 93-time tour-level titlist, will reach 1,050 tour-level match wins this week if he advances to the final. Only four other men in the Open Era have made that milestone: Jimmy Connors (1,274), Roger Federer (1,251), Rafael Nadal (1,068) and Ivan Lendl (1,068).

Djokovic will begin his campaign in Banja Luka against Frenchman Luca Van Assche, who defeats World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 on Monday.