Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic’s Djokovic mention left Pope Leo XIV correcting him, as the awkward exchange went viral on social media.

Published on: Oct 6, 2026, 12:34:13 IST

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Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic recently found himself in a rather awkward situation during his visit to the Vatican, where he met Pope Leo XIV, and it involved Novak Djokovic. Yes, the tennis legend.

The visit was significant, marking the 140th anniversary of the Concordat between the Holy See and Montenegro and 20 years of diplomatic relations between the two.

Milatovic presented the Pope with a specially made tennis racquet featuring motifs of Montenegrin state symbols. He also presented him with a reproduction of the first page of the 1886 Concordat between the Principality of Montenegro and the Holy See. It was during this conversation that Djokovic was mentioned.

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Milatovic brought up Djokovic in the context of tennis in Montenegro, but the Pope quickly corrected him with the remark: “But (Djokovic) is Serbian.”

Milatovic, however, continued by saying that the 24-time Grand Slam winner is “you know, also very keen on Montenegro.”

The clip quickly went viral on social media.

Djokovic in China Open final

Miles away from this conversation, Djokovic is currently competing at the China Open, where he reached the final in Beijing after beating Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals. The match was marred by the Russian's disqualification after he hit the balltowards a spectator in apparent frustration.

Earlier, Djokovic had defeated Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals. Zverev has won two Grand Slam titles this year.

Djokovic, who holds an unprecedented 33-0 record at the tournament, which he last played in 2015, will now aim to win his first title since the Hellenic Championship in Athens, Greece, on November 8, 2025. He will face No. 9 seed Alex de Minaur in the final on Tuesday.

The Australian advanced to the final after Hubert Hurkacz retired due to an apparent injury midway through the second set of their semifinal.

It will be Djokovic’s second final of the year after he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open final.

With his ranking down to No. 11, this is the first time in eight years that Djokovic is playing a tournament outside the top 10. It is also his first tournament since his first-round exit from the US Open.

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