During his second-round match at Wimbledon against Stefanos Tsitsipas, Novak Djokovic shared a lighthearted moment with a ball girl that briefly startled her. After taking a two-set lead, Djokovic called for the ball girl during a changeover to assist with his clothing.
As the ball girl cut a loose thread from his shirt sleeve, Djokovic humorously recoiled as if he had been accidentally cut. The young attendant reacted with visible shock, placing her hand on her chest, appearing to believe she had caused an injury to the tennis star.
Both Djokovic and the ball girl were left smiling after the prank, with the player acknowledging the scare. "I guess this kind of thing surfaces when you're two sets to love up, rather than two sets to love down," Djokovic said post-match. "I'm sorry if I scared her. It was not that great of a joke. It made me a bit more relaxed on the court, I guess."
Social media users reacted with amusement to the incident, with comments highlighting the ball girl's initial alarm and Djokovic's sense of humor. The moment occurred during Djokovic's dominant performance, where he ultimately secured a third-set victory of 6-2, extending his head-to-head record against Tsitsipas to 13-2 and advancing to the Wimbledon third round.
Among the spectators in the Centre Court crowd was two-time major golf champion Rory McIlroy, who was wearing his green Masters jacket. Djokovic playfully called out to McIlroy, expressing his admiration for the jacket and jokingly challenging him to a match for it.