Slice to see you! Djokovic in Israel and set to play local star

It was ‘Shalom Israel’ for tennis ace Novak Djokovic this week as he enjoyed his time in the Jewish state taking part in the ATP tournament in Tel Aviv.

The Serbian, who is one of the world’s great players alongside recent retiree Roger Federer, landed on Monday night, saying he was “happy and excited to be back”, despite social media users slamming his decision to play in Israel as “shameful”.

In the doubles, Djokovic will reunite with Israeli veteran Yoni Erlich, 45, who won the Australian Open men’s doubles back in 2008, for an emotional last tournament for the Israeli favourite before his own retirement. The pair won the Queen’s Club Championship together in 2010.

Djokovic played in Israel early in his career, in 2006, when Serbia beat Israel in the Davis Cup. Since then, he has won an incredible 21 Grand Slam titles – and shows no sign of slowing down.

He flew to Israel after playing in the Laver Cup in London, which turned out to be the final tournament farewell for Federer, 41, who won 103 ATP singles titles, the second most of all time.