Novak Djokovic is taking it easy in the post-Olympics season. The ‘Serbinator’ has already set his plans ahead of the US Open. Having withdrawn his name from the upcoming Cincinnati Open to give himself more time to recover after a gruelling-yet-so-pleasing Paris Olympics campaign, Djokovic has also set his post-US Open schedules for the 2024 season. And it does not include the Laver Cup.

Just as soon as the names Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas were announced as the final two players to join the rest of Team Europe, we knew the Serb would be a major miss this year. Everyone wondered what would he do in that time span. Well, for all the fans who had this question in their minds, here’s the answer: Djokovic will play an exhibition match with his fellow tennis star, Grigor Dimitrov in Bulgaria on September 17. That’s almost nine days after the end of the US Open and in the same week of Roger Federer’s Laver Cup.

The match has been organized by Grigor Dimitrov Foundation and it will take place at the Arena Sofia. Nole has played on Bulgarian soil only once in his career and he’s expected to attract a lot of masses in this charity match. Dimitrov’s Foundation pledges to raise funds to support the Bulgarian children in their difficulties. Djokovic currently leads the H2H scoreline by a 12-1 margin against Dimitrov. The 33-year-old Bulgarian will be perhaps thanking the Almighty that it’s just an exhibition match this time!

Roger Federer has always wanted to see Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz in the same team. With this recent move, it seems he perhaps needs to wait a bit longer to fulfill his wish now. However, when it comes to charities, Djokovic is someone who always takes the first step forward.

Putting the spotlight on Novak Djokovic’s off-the-field contributions to society

The Novak Djokovic Foundation was founded by him and his wife Jelena in 2007. Since then, they have been heavily committed to ensuring every child in Serbia has access to preschool education by 2030. Reflecting on their mission, Djokovic once said, “No victory is as important as those that we achieve together year after year by including more children in early years programs and enabling them to develop in the best possible way.” The Foundation has already invested a significant amount in Serbia to build 58 pre-schools and impacted the lives of more than 54,800 children in their country.

Djokovic never misses a chance to do something for a better cause. Just after winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, it was revealed that the Serbian government had announced  $218,293 for him to congratulate him on his astonishing feat. However, according to multiple reports that were published earlier, he donated the entire sum to humanitarian causes. Djokovic had also made several charitable contributions during the pandemic. There have been multiple such instances when the “most hated” became the “most beloved” individual in the racquet sport!