Novak Djokovic donates tournament winnings to flood relief in Serbia

Tennis player Novak Djokovic got a big win in the Italian Open over Rafael Nadal. It was his third time winning the tournament, and he dedicated the title to his country of Serbia which is being hit hard by floods at the moment.

“This heart on the court is for you,” Djokovic told the fans, via ESPN. “It’s also a special dedication to my country, which is suffering a lot right now. My heart is with them.”

“I’m trying to contribute in my own way,” Djokovic added. “These are very critical times for our country and our people. But we’re being united and this win and this trophy is dedicated to them.”

There are estimates that as many as 43 people have died as the floods, which were caused by excessive rains. Tens of thousands have been left without electricity and drinking water. According to TMZ, Djokovic is doing more than just dedicating the win and trophy to his country.

"Novak Djokovic has donated 100% of his prize winnings from a tennis tournament in Rome to flood relief in Serbia … a donation that totaled roughly $750,000.Now, Novak has announced he has donated the entire cash prize from the tourney — €549,000 … which is roughly $750k."

It is an incredible gesture from an athlete who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to help out his country. Leading an effort to raise money would’ve been acceptable, but to donate nearly a million dollars of his own earnings is pretty remarkable. Djokovic also criticized the media for not covering it enough, and his gesture could’ve been in part to help raise awareness as well as providing aid.

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“Unfortunately there’s not enough awareness of what’s going on,” Djokovic said before the final against Nadal, via Sports Illustrated. “I see on CNN and BBC and other big networks there’s a lot of talk about the miners in Turkey and so forth and it’s another disaster. But no broadcast about Serbia and this is the biggest flood that I’ve ever seen and maybe that Europe has ever seen. This is incredible. So I hope people can find the common sense and broadcast this a little bit and spread the awareness of what’s going on.”