Novak Djokovic is hosting children of victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks at the U.S. Open.
On Wednesday, after his quarterfinal win over No. 10 Fernando Verdasco, the fourth-seeded Serb discussed the decision to invite children to sit in his guest seats at matches.
“It’s something that I have been going through, as well, something similar in my past, you know, through the war and all these things,” said Djokovic.
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Djokovic said he hasn’t been talking with the children about the tragedy, the eighth anniversary of which comes on Friday, but that he did want to reach out to them and offer them a unique experience.
“We’re trying to enjoy. We’re young. They’re young. They’re trying to enjoy their life, and they came to tennis,” he said. “So this is the positive message. We don’t want to, you know, get back in the past. What already happened, happened. It’s life.”