Novak Djokovic's '16' camera message in Miami Open 2025 linked to national tragedy

Tennis legend Novak Djokovic wrote a special message on the camera after winning his match against Rinky Hijikata at the Miami Open Masters 1000 tournament. The serbian won the game by 6-0, 7-6 (1) and moved to the third round. 

He is playing in Miami for the first time since the 2019 season and the past couple of years were unsuccessful for the 24-time tennis grand slam winner. This year Djokovic played the Australian Open and Indian Wells Open and lost in both tournaments.

Novak withdrew from the AO 25 Open semi-finals after suffering an injury during his match against Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals. His Indian Wells 2025 campaign concluded earlier as he lost against Botic Van de Zandschulp in the second round.

He made 37 unforced errors which is too high for a five-time Indian Wells champion. Many say the 37-year-old is already past his prime and it is time to retire just like his friends Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Novak’s only recent success came in the Paris Olympics where he won the gold medal match against his Wimbledon Opponent Carlos Alcaraz. He has started his Miami Open campaign with a win and with this, he now equals his biggest Rafael Nadal for the most ATP 1000 Masters wins. 

Novak's heartful message 

Djokovic set the perfect platform to start his winning streak and become a seven-time Miami Open champion this year. But after the match, he wrote a heartfelt message on the camera in serbian. Fans were curious to learn what that is and we have the answer.

Back in Serbia on November 1, 2024, a concrete canopy above the entrance of the Novi Sad railway station collapsed and 15 people died and two were injured. And now one 19-year-old man who was in the ICU has died and Djokovic wrote a heartfelt message in serbian ‘Moltive Za 16’ which translates to ‘Prayers for 16’.

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