Novak Djokovic sends notice to Rio de Janeiro state over dues ammounting to 3.5 million

The Serbian has had a roller coaster 2020. He began with a title at the Australian Open. He was backlashed due to the Adria Cup. The Serb went to the US Open undefeated all season and crashed out with a default. That was not all, he even started a new organization to provide tennis players with adequate representation.

World No.1 is now in a legal battle with Rio De Jenario, from where he is unpaid his due amount. The due was to be paid for an exhibition match he played. Yet the Serb has to move to court to get the cash.

An exhibition match from 2012, too long

The match was held in 2012 when Novak Djokovic visited Rio and played against Gustavo ‘Guga’ Kuerten. Novak was guaranteed a fee of US$1.1 million for the match. He even took part in some social events as per contract. However, Djokovic was only paid $450,000 for his efforts.

The Serb then moved to court in 2015 and lost the case when he claimed to be a victim of fraud. The Serb continued his efforts and filed another case in 2019. The verdict lt came in January this year, which addressed the state of Rio to make the outstanding amount of $650,000 to Novak Djokovic.

This amount equals to 3.5 million Brazilian Real. A per the source, O Globo, the Serb and his legal team has sent a notice to the Public Finance Court, for the dues to be cleared.

The Serb will be in Europe meanwhile, participating in the Rome Masters that begins on 14th September. He will have to beat the defending champion, Rafael Nadal if he wants to lead the ATP 1000 race further. The Serb already has 35 ATP 1000 titles.

Also Read: Novak’s wife shares an emotional drawing of Djokovic by a fan, after Novak’s disqualification