An Olympic tennis ball girl has gone viral for giving Novak Djokovic a flirty look during his 6-3 7-6 (7-3) win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in Paris on Thursday.
Djokovic is likely making his last Olympic appearance and is keen to land a gold medal, given it’s one of the only things missing from the GOAT’s trophy cabinet.
The 37-year-old’s victory over Tsitsipas means Djokovic has become the oldest player in history to reach the semi-finals of the Olympic singles tournament.
He is now guaranteed a spot in a medal match – which will be for the gold or silver if he wins in the last four – or for the bronze if he loses to Lorenzo Musetti.
Djokovic, though, picked up a nasty-looking knee injury during his triumph over Tsitsipas and there are genuine fears he could withdraw ahead of the semi-finals.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion is adamant he will do everything he can to play through the knee problem and keep his hopes of landing a medal alive.
‘Even if the doctor says the knee is not ok, I’ll probably get on the court and give it a try,’ Djokovic said after the match. ‘These are very rare chances to fight for a medal for my country, so I am going to do everything possible in the next 24 hours to put myself in a position to fight for a medal for Serbia.’
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates after his win over Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas
Novak Djokovic has never won an Olympic gold medal before (Picture: Getty)
Meanwhile, an incident during the Djokovic-Tsitsipas clash at Roland-Garros has gone viral, and it has nothing to do with actual tennis.
It’s to do with a certain look one of the Olympic ball girls gave Djokovic, which has sent social media into somewhat of a frenzy.
That’s despite the fact that the tennis legend has been married to Jelena Djokovic since 2014.
Find someone that looks at you the same way as this ballgirl looks at Novak Djokovic. pic.twitter.com/njCQe0HrPO
— Jason (@Certinfy)
August 1, 2024
‘Females can and will project a powerful beem of support with just their eyes,’ tennis fan @mahaprakriti posted on X. ‘When Novak turns around [and] sees her… he knows to do.’