Novak Djokovic reveals an INSECT has been named after him

He’s one of his country’s most accomplished sportsman.

But tennis ace Novak Djokovic has been lauded in a more unusual way by Serbian scientists, who have announced they’re naming an insect after him. 

‘Duvalius djokovici’ is the Latin name of the insect species and the tennis star took to social media to tell his army of 11.5 million followers ‘New kind of insect found in Western Serbia named after me :-)’.

What an honour? Tennis ace Novak Djokovic has been lauded in a more unusual way by Serbian scientists, who have announced they’re naming an insect after him 

Novak accompanied the post with an image of the male and female sexes of the insect, which scientists say is a type of ground beetle.

The experts said that the insect belongs to the Duvalius genus of ground beetle and was in fact discovered several years ago in western Serbia but it is only now that it has been officially named.

The insect is said to be a unique type of cave predator that was discovered in Sima’s Pit (Simina Jama), which is located on the Povlen Mountain, in Western Serbia.

The scientists behind the discovery explained that it shares some common traits with Djokovic including speed, considerable strength, perseverance, and an ability to survive in harsh environments.

They also admitted that they were huge Djokovic fans, according to local media.

Sharing: ‘Duvalius djokovici’ is the Latin name of the insect species and the tennis star took to social media to tell his army of over 11.5 million followers in an Instagram Story

Researcher Nikola Vesovic said: ‘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.

‘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”.

Exciting: He accompanied the post with an image of the male and female sexes of the insect, which scientists say is a type of ground beetle

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Explainer: The scientists behind the discovery explained that it shares some common traits with Djokovic including speed, considerable strength, and perseverance

‘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!’

Djokovic has been married to wife Jelena for over eight years, and share two children together.

She is usually on the sidelines supporting her world-number-seven husband Novak.

Earlier this week he cruised to his 89th tour title as he beat Marin Cilic in straight sets to win the Tel Aviv Watergen Open.

The tennis legend, playing in his first singles tournament since winning Wimbledon in July, eased past second seed Cilic 6-3 6-4 to take his third tour-level crown of the year.

Lovebirds: The 35-year-old, who has been married to wife Jelena (pictured together) for over eight years, and share two children together