miknikel

Tennis champion Novak Djokovic plans to open a restaurant in his home country, Serbia, where meals for the homeless would be free.

The world's number six tennis player Novak Djokovic has developed a career that is not very well known to him: after opening two restaurants, he is now preparing to open a third one in his native Serbia.

The news includes a major surprise: the player plans to offer a free family kitchen for the homeless and other people in need. "Money is not an issue for me. I've earned enough to feed the whole of Serbia. I think they deserve it after the support I received from them," the champion said in a statement echoed by the Daily Mirror. At 30 years old, Novak Djokovic, has indeed accumulated more than 109 million euros in tournament earnings, excluding sponsors.  
The three-time Wimbledon winner is one of those huge vegan or vegetarian champions, like Carl Lewis or the Williams sisters, but there is no guarantee that his new establishment will be vegan or not. Sensitized to nutrition issues - his parents have owned several restaurants - he begins to drastically change his eating habits in 2011. He first eliminated gluten before finally adopting an exclusively vegetable diet.

The champion attributes his successes to his regime change. "Thanks to my family, I have always been in love with cooking. But as an athlete, it has become crucial: the fuel that determines how I play, how I recover, and my attitude on the court," said the player, whose words were reported by the Daily Mirror.

"Food is my passion. Of all the things I have experienced in my life, food is the one that has the biggest impact on me. I would like to share this with everyone," he added. And it is true that the champion has won 11 of his 12 Grand Slam titles since 2011, the year he converted to vegan food. This passion has already led him to open the Novak restaurant in Belgrade in 2009, and the vegan Eqvita canteen in Monte Carlo, where he lives with his family, inaugurated in 2016. It seems that one can often meet the champion within the walls of his establishment.

"Nole", injured this season in the elbow, announced on his website that he has put his training to sleep in order to regain a better level in 2018. However, his name continues to make headlines. The champion has just had a second child with his wife Jelena in early September, and he continues the activities of his Novak Djokovic Foundation, which develops educational projects for young children in Serbia.

It has even signed a partnership with the World Bank, which will work with the Serbian authorities to combat inequalities affecting children from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds. The specialized agency of the United Nations has allocated $50 million to this cause. The tennis player said on this occasion in 2015 in the World Bank statement: "We must... ensure that all children are given equal opportunities to develop and become productive and concerned citizens of the world. As a child, I was fortunate to receive this vital support, and my dream is that every child in Serbia and around the world will be able to develop their potential."