Novak Djokovic gifted one of his racquets to a young fan who had been cheering him on in the final.© Darren Rovell/Twitter
Novak Djokovic, who added a 19th Grand Slam title to his kitty on Sunday after winning the French Open, gave one of the racquets that he used in the match to a boy at courtside, making the young fan’s day. The boy’s reaction to the gift said it all as Djokovic walked up to the fan and handed him the racquet. Later, during the post-match press conference Djokovic spoke about how the young boy had been cheering him on throughout the final against Stefanos Tsitsipas. “He was in my ear the entire match basically, especially when I was two sets to love down. He was encouraging me. He was actually giving me tactics, as well,” said Djokovic.
Amazing moment of Novak Djokovic handing his French Open title winning racket to a young boy. pic.twitter.com/zOHOXa53bp
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) June 13, 2021
“He was like, ‘Hold your serve, get an easy first ball, then dictate, go to his backhand.’ He was coaching me literally.
“I found that very cute, very nice. So I felt like to give the racquet to the best person was him after the match. That was kind of my gratitude for him sticking with me and supporting me.”
Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in a thrilling five-set encounter at Court Philippe-Chatrier. Djokovic won the match after being two sets down, clinching the match 6-7 (6/8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
After this win, Djokovic is nwo only one Grand Slam title away from joint-record holders Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, both of whom have 20 titles.
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The win, earned in four hours and 11 minutes, also meant that Djokovic became the first man in 52 years to win all four majors twice.
(With AFP inputs)
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