'We will invite Roger Federer to Serbia Open in 2022,' said Djordje Djokovic

The Serbia Open returns to the ATP calendar in a few weeks for the first time since 2012, with Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem as the leading figures.

Novak's brother and the tournament director Djordje Djokovic has big plans for the Serbian capital's event, saying they want to reach the ATP 500 level within five years. Djordje also revealed they couldn't chase more big names this year, but he has big goals for the future, hoping to bring Roger Federer in Belgrade in 2022!

"Our real opportunity for the Serbia Open came last October; we bought a five-year license from Budapest, as we get along nicely with Ion Tiriac. We agreed in December, and the Serbia Open was reborn. We have big goals and would love to become an ATP 500 series tournament. If we succeed, then we will buy that license. We looked for a week in the calendar with the best odds of becoming an ATP 500 series event.

Barcelona is indeed held in the same week, but it would not be the first case with two ATP 500 events in the same week. We are proud that we could secure big prize money for our tournament, with €650,000. The players are our ambassadors, and we have to take care of them. Big prize money was one of my priorities to attract the players and fulfill the ATP's expectations. We want to show to ourselves and everyone else that we are ready for a 500 series tournament.

I asked Novak not to be involved with the organization, as we want to treat him like all the other players. I want him to enjoy and behave like a player. Of course, he was involved in gaining the license, and he is enthusiastic about the event. I think I will surprise even him with some of the things we have in store for the players. We have not invited Roger this year because we had to consider our budget; we could not afford to spend all of our money on one player.

We had to distribute money the other way, to spread it, but we hope to see Federer in Belgrade in the coming years. It is my sincere hope that we will be able to host him at least once before he ends his career. We will invite him next year; I can promise that," Djordje Djokovic said.