Serbian scientists name new insect after Novak Djokovic to honour tennis star

21-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic took to his official social media handle to celebrate after Serbian scientists honoured him by naming a new insect after him. Serbian scientist Dr Nikola Vesović revealed that the new insect discovered in Western Serbia is named Duvalius Djokovici 'as a sign of gratitude and the need to give back to Novak' in their own way,' who has brought a high amount of laurels to the country.

Novak Djokovic has insect named after him

Serbian scientist Dr Nikola Vesović, who is one of the authors of the new species, wrote a long post to explain why the insect was being named after Novak Djokovic. He explained,

"Novak Djokovic - for more than 15 years, this man has been cheering up the entire nation, making us proud, and during that time he has become like a family member to everyone. He is not only the top ambassador of Serbia in the world but the best male tennis player of all time and one of the most dominant athletes ever."

Vesović then went on to add how he had the honour to reveal this new insect species by adding, "I have the honour and pleasure to announce the discovery of a new insect species from Western Serbia that was previously unknown to science. It is a specialized, blind, subterranean ground beetle (Coleoptera, Carabidae) found in a pit near the town of Ljubovija. A scientific paper on the description of the new species was recently published in the prominent journal "Annales Zoologici Fennici."

Vesović concluded his remarks by adding, "As a sign of gratitude and our need to give back to Novak in our own way, we decided to name the new species after him - Duvalius djokovici. Thank you Novak!"