"Rafael Nadal lives rent free in Serbia";"Jealousy" - Fans react as president Aleksandar Vucic 'copies' Spaniard with plans for Novak Djokovic museum

Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic claiming Novak Djokovic to be bigger than Rafael Nadal did not sit well with the fans. Vucic made these claims while talking about the museum that is about to be built in Belgrade in honor of the 24-time Major champion.

Djokovic finally clinched the elusive Olympic gold in Paris this year when he defeated Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(3), 7-6(2) in a two-hour and 51-minute thriller. The Serb became the only player in men's tennis to win all the Grand Slams, the Olympic Gold, Nitto ATP Finals, and all the Masters 1000.

To commemorate the 37-year-old's illustrious career, Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic announced that a museum will be built in Belgrade in Djokovic's honor. He also mentioned how Mallorca has a museum dedicated to the 22-time Grand Slam champion and similarly wanted to show the Serbian legend's achievements to the entire world.

Vucic also boldly claimed that Djokovic was bigger than his rival.

"Mallorca has a Rafael Nadal museum. We will make sure to show what Novak Djokovic has done for our country, while attracting tourists. Novak is bigger than Nadal."

The Serbin President's comments didn't sit too well with tennis fans who took to X (formerly Twitter) to react to it. One fan said how the Spaniard lived rent-free in the Serbians' minds.

"Nadal lives rent free in the whole country"

Another fan said that the President's comments stemmed from jealousy and obsession with the 14-time Roland Garros champion.

"Bwahahaha such jealousy and obsession of the copy cats, so badly wants to be better than Nadal. 😂Next what , want a statue outside RLA lmfao 😭😭."

Here are some other reactions from the fans.

"Quite embarrassing for @avucic , the Serbian president to try to put Nadal down🤷‍♀️Doesn’t sound like something an adult or an official person would do. Goes to show you how much he had Nadal on his mind 💁‍♀️," a fan opined.

"'Imitation is the most sincere form of adulation '" Cit. Charles Caleb Colton, a fan mentioned.

"Ahaha okay Aleksandar. It feels more like a sentence from a Twitter troll or a 6 yo kid than from a president of a country 😂," a fan joked.

"Should have tried something new instead of copying Rafa🤣🫣😜," a fan thought.

Rafael Nadal congratulated Novak Djokovic on his Paris Olympics 2024 triumph and completing the career Golden Slam

The two rivals during the ceremonious handshake after their match (Image source: GETTY)

En route to his gold medal triumph, Novak Djokovic also had to go through his longtime rival in the second round. He defeated the Spaniard 6-1, 6-4, in what was their 60th meeting and extended his lead to 31-29 in their head-to-head meetings.

After the Serb's triumph, the 38-year-old took to Instagram to congratulate his rival on achieving his dream and joining him in becoming only the fifth player in the Open Era to complete the career Golden Slam.

"Congrats Novak on completing the (Career) Golden Slam and being able to achieve what you wanted. Well done," the 22-time Major champion wrote.

Djokovic is slated to kick off his North American hardcourt swing at the Cincinnati Masters where he is the defending champion whereas the 38-year-old withdrew from the US Open and has stated that his next tournament will be the Laver Cup in Berlin.