‘Kosovo the heart of Serbia,’ Djokovic writes

SERBIAN world No 3 Novak Djokovic risked stirring up a political controversy at the French Open on Monday, after writing a message about Kosovo on a camera lens following his first-round victory.

“Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. Stop the violence,” 22-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic wrote in Serbian.

Some 30 Nato peacekeeping soldiers defending three town halls in Kosovo were injured in clashes with Serbs protesters in the town of Zvecan, where Djokovic’s father grew up. Serbian authorities said 52 protesters were injured in clashes.

The tense situation developed after ethnic Albanian mayors took office in northern Kosovo’s Serb-majority area after elections the Serbs boycotted – a move that led the US and its allies to rebuke Pristina on Friday.

Serbs, who comprise a majority in Kosovo’s north, have never accepted its 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia and still see Belgrade as their capital.