Novak Djokovic gave everyone at Wimbledon a good laugh on Wednesday after pulling a prank on a ball girl during his straight-sets win over Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The ball girl was asked to cut some black tape from his right shoulder with a pair of scissors. Just as she was doing it, Djokovic suddenly cried out in pain, making it seem as though she had accidentally hurt him.
The poor girl was left stunned. She quickly stepped back with a shocked expression, clearly worried that she may have injured the 24-time Grand Slam champion in front of a packed Centre Court and millions watching around the world.
A moment later, Djokovic burst into laughter, letting her know it was all a joke. The relieved ball girl couldn’t help but laugh too after realising she had been pranked.
“Things like this only happen when you’re two sets up, not two sets down,” Djokovic joked after his 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win over Tsitsipas.
“I’m sorry if I scared her, but it helped me relax a little. I was just having some fun.”
Djokovic’s dominant victory kept him in high spirits, and he continued entertaining the crowd during his on-court interview when he spotted two-time Masters champion Rory McIlroy sitting in the Royal Box wearing his famous Green Jacket.
“Rory, what a beautiful jacket,” Djokovic said with a smile before asking, “Is that the Masters jacket?”
When McIlroy nodded, Djokovic jokingly made him an offer.
“I want that jacket. Let’s play for it. My jacket against your jacket—but we’ll play tennis, not golf,” he said, pointing to his own cream blazer as the Centre Court crowd erupted in laughter.
