A frustrated Novak Djokovic during his Australian Open final against Dominic Thiem. (Getty Images)
World No.1 Novak Djokovic will have more reason to celebrate when he reaches Dubai next week.
The Serbian, who will play in the Dubai Duty Free Men’s Championship will now be a resident of the UAE too.
Gulf News reports that the Serbian joins a list of select athletes who have been handed the 10-year Gold Card resident visa by the Arab nation.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, had approved the issuing of such visas to top sporting talents from across the world, and Djokovic isn’t the only one to have received the honour.
The names were announced in the first week of this month with Cristiano Ronaldo included in the list.
Other footballers to have been handed the honour include Romelu Lukaku, Miralem Pjanic, Paul Pogba and former stars such as Carles Puyol, Luis Figo and Roberto Carlos.
The report adds that Roger Federer, Didier Drogba and Eric Abidal, who all own homes in the UAE, will feature in the list soon.
The Dubai Tennis Championships (Dubai Desert Classic) features some of the biggest players in both the men’s and women’s circuits.
Roger Federer won the title in 2019, which was his eighth success. The Swiss defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas last year in straight sets.
Djokovic has also had a great time in the competition and has won the crown five times. However, his last success came in 2013 when he beat Tomas Berdych.
Federer and Djokovic are the two tops seeds for this year’s competition too. The other top male tennis players to feature include Tsitsipas, Gael Monfils and Fabio Fognini.
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