Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. HOME News Royal Showbiz & TV Sport Comment Finance Travel Entertainment Life & Style Football Tennis Transfer news F1 Boxing UFC Cricket Rugby Other Golf NFL Racing NBA Novak Djokovic has earned praise on social media after being snapped enjoying his holidays 23: 50, Sat, Aug 19, 2023 | UPDATED: 23: 50, Sat, Aug 19, 2023
Chinese tennis star Wu Yibing on his journey to ATP TourTennis star Novak Djokovic showed his class whilst enjoying a mid-season break on Korcula Island, Croatia. Photos have emerged on social media of him teaching local children how to play and competing in light-hearted matches against the youngsters.
Djokovic recently progressed into the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Masters after beating Taylor Fritz, setting up a clash with Alexander Zverev. The Serb has bounced back to form in Ohio, returning to the court for the first time since tasting defeat in the Wimbledon final against Carlos Alcaraz earlier this summer.
Following his loss at SW19, Djokovic nursed some of his injury problems before jetting off on holiday to enjoy a short, relaxing summer break. However, the 23-time Grand Slam champion was unable to completely forget about tennis whilst soaking up the sun.
Photos have emerged of Djokovic playing tennis abroad, creating a court using two benches lined up as a bench so that he could compete with local children. The makeshift matches took place on the paved grounds outside of a church, with support pouring in for the world No 2 for making time to create lasting memories for the kids whilst enjoying a holiday.
Novak Djokovic was spotted playing tennis with kids (Image: Instagram @sportal_srbija)
Donning flip flops and a pair of swimming trunks, Djokovic is shown playing against a young girl, with another snap showing him truly recreating a match-like experience for his opponent by shaking her hand over the net/benches once the game had concluded.
The preparation appears to have served Djokovic well as he has been in flawless form at the Cincinnati Masters since, and he will be hoping that he can right the wrongs of his Wimbledon display by setting up a rematch against Alcaraz in the final at the All England Club.
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Djokovic has impressed at the Cincinnati Masters (Image: Getty)
Speaking after his recent win over Fritz in the quarters, he explained: “Obviously being the No 1 American, he gets a lot of crowd support. I just managed to get out of the blocks really strong and play an almost perfect, flawless first set. Then I started off really poorly in the second and handed him the break, but from 2-4 down, I played four really solid games in the second. Just overall a great performance.”
However, upcoming semi-final opponent Zverev will be doing his very best to prevent the fairytale final for Djokovic. The 26-year-old has beaten Grigor Dimitrov and Adrian Mannarino on his way to the semi finals, though his victory over world No 3 Daniil Medvedev was the most significant – a success that he can thank Alcaraz for after revealing that the Spaniard provided him with some advice prior to the match.
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