Novak Djokovic showed his caring side in the early hours of Sunday morning after his epic win over Lorenzo Musetti at the French Open, telling a young fan "you need to sleep"
15:52, 03 Jun 2024Updated 15:57, 03 Jun 2024
Novak Djokovic warmed the hearts of many after a touching interaction with a young fan following his French Open victory over Lorenzo Musetti.
The Serbian tennis star progressed to the fourth round of the French Open after an intense five-set match that finished at around 3am on Sunday morning. Post-match, the 37-year-old jumped over the barrier to chat with a group of fans who had stayed for the entire four hours and 29 minutes of the game and gave a young boy named Tom memories for a lifetime.
Djokovic embraced the lad, gave him a kiss on the forehead and even gifted him an autographed racket as a thank you for staying up so late to watch the match. A video of the heartwarming moment was shared on social media, where Djokovic can be heard telling the young fan: "You need to sleep my friend. What are you still doing here? You are very young."
Afterwards, Tom revealed that the 24-time Grand Slam winner noticed him during the match and made a point to catch up with him at the end, reports the Express.
READ MORE: Novak Djokovic makes honest admission after breaking 'not healthy' French Open recordREAD MORE: Novak Djokovic behind-the-scenes footage at French Open speaks volumes"At 4-4 in the first set, and while I kept cheering him on, he looked at me with his fist clenched... when the match was over, he told me to stay where I was and then he came," Tom shared with French publication Le Parisien. "He gave me a jersey, a racquet and an autographed wristband. He said thank you very much twice, gave me a hug and then a kiss on the head. There was a lot of joy."
Tom's dad, Franck, was all praises for Djokovic, emphasising that despite the late hour, he made a special effort. "It was exactly 3:22 when Novak came to see Tom," he recounted. "He had every reason to return to the locker room quickly. But he came and that's beautiful because not all champions do that."
Djokovic is now gearing up for a fourth-round battle against Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo, with a win potentially leading to a quarter-final showdown with either Taylor Fritz or Casper Ruud.
Despite only three of his 24 major titles being from Roland Garros, Djokovic's recent performances in Paris have been stellar, clinching the title twice in the past three years, although Carlos Alcaraz is currently the favourite according to bookmakers.
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