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Novak Djokovic praised for donation to Italy

Sports Virus Outbreak Tennis

FILE - In this Feb. 29, 2020, file photo, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic returns the ball to Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece during the final match of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The heads of the ATP and WTA professional tennis tours tell the AP that they are coordinating with each other as they weigh how to reschedule the sport’s calendar for whenever play can resume after the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)

AP

Novak Djokovic has been praised by the director general of the local health authority in Bergamo for his donation to help control the coronavirus outbreak in Italy.

Peter Assembergs says “we never expected to see on our bank account a donation from such a prestigious person.”

Assembergs says “reading among the donators the name of the best tennis player in the world ... made me emotional.”

The money will be used to help buy ventilators and other medical equipment.

Djokovic, his wife and their foundation recently donated 1 million euros (about $1.1 million) to help hospitals in Serbia.