World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has now established himself as one of the greats in the tennis and the sports world in general. But since he is from Serbia, he not only holds a position of immense popularity and respect in his country but also in the fellow neighboring Balkan countries. Now, to honor the Serbian legend, a new snail species has been named after him in Montenegro.

According to the journal Subterranean Biology, the snail species was discovered at the Vriješko Vrelo spring in Montenegro. And given Djokovic’s popularity and career legacy, they named the new species after him and called it Travunijana Djokovici.

“I am honoured that a new species of snail was named after me because I am a big fan of nature and ecosystems and I appreciate all kinds of animals and plants. I try to live in harmony with nature. The news made me laugh.” Djokovic said.

Novak Djokovic jokes about the new species

Djokovic is currently at his home tournament in Belgrade, Serbia. Thus, when he got to know about the honor, he couldn’t hide his appreciation for the gesture. The World No.1 reiterated his close relationship with nature and was flattered by the news.

He said, “I don’t know how symbolic this is, because throughout my career I always tried to be fast and then a snail was named after me. Maybe it’s a message for me, telling me to slow down a bit!”

Djokovic headlines the Serbia Open 2021 draw. The ATP 250 series tournament has been heavily spoken for by Djokovic himself, and through him, the tournament even had Dominic Thiem in the draw. But the Austrian withdrew because of an injury.

The Australian Open 2021 champ has quickly found himself in the quarterfinals. He will now play fellow Serbian and eighth seed Miomir Kecmanovic to book a place in the semifinals where he could face the flying Russian Aslan Karatsev.

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