Audemars Piguet - Novak Djokovic, Newly appointed Ambassador
Novak Djokovic, who is enjoying an exceptional season in 2011, is thereby proudly joining the brand's team of ambassadors which notably includes a number of famous sportsmen including Michael Schumacher, Leo Messi, American basketball star LeBron James, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and golfers Lee Westwood and Rory Mcllroy.
A man of simple and modest tastes, Novak Djokovic is nonetheless a genuine aesthete with a particular penchant for the refinement of the timepieces made by the watchmaker from the Vallee de Joux. It was thus entirely logical for Audemars Piguet to set the seal on this friendship with the extraordinary player. It all began several months ago, when he paid a discreet visit to the watch company that is still in the hands of the founding families. During his visit, Djokovic expressed his admiration for the brand's latest watches in glowing terms after visiting the workshops in Le Brassus, stating how he had been deeply impressed by "the beauty and the complexity of the movements" produced there. "I have discovered a new passion for fine watchmaking and I truly admire both the traditional and modern aspects of the work accomplished by Audemars Piguet".
This admiration is mutual. Above and beyond his undeniable tennis playing abilities, Audemars Piguet appreciates the generosity and altruism demonstrated by Djokovic, who is involved in a number of charitable endeavours. In 2007, he founded the Novak Humanitarian Fund that operated on various fronts, including providing access to tennis courts and scholarships for young Serbians, donating ambulances to hospitals in Kosovska Mitrovica and Brus, and making a donation to the Gracanica monastery for the redemption of land parcels in Padaliste.
The fund has recently narrowed its scope of activities and operates to provide emotional and programmatic support to children who have lost a parent. In Serbia, the foundation also seeks to support the access to education as well as educational development for all children. To aid in this, Djokovic has partnered with UNICEF Serbia.In parallel, Djokovic takes part whenever he can in fundraising exhibition matches, such as on behalf of the reconstruction of Haiti, in Japan, in Loznica and Kraljevo.
All of which makes it entirely natural for this big-hearted individual and accomplished sportsman to be now officially joining the Audemars Piguet family. Brand CEO Philippe Merk stated: "We are particularly honoured by the friendship we enjoy with this great champion who expresses through his sport our own values of excellence and audacity. We wish him a warm welcome and the best of luck for the rest of the season which he has dominated so far, but the battle with his rivals isn't over yet!"