Novak Djokovic playfully teased a ball girl during his Wimbledon match against Stefanos Tsitsipas on Centre Court, pretending she had injured him with scissors. The 24-time Grand Slam champion had just won the second set to take a 2-0 lead on Wednesday night when he asked the young girl to help cut the taping on his shoulder.
Prank on Centre Court
Djokovic handed the ball girl a pair of scissors to trim the tape. As she began snipping, the seven-time Wimbledon champion winced in fake pain, causing the youngster to look absolutely terrified. He quickly burst into laughter as the girl clutched her hand to her chest in shock.
During the BBC's live coverage, presenter Clare Balding said: "He's going to get help from one of the ball girls. Oh that's funny. He's joking. He's joking. Oh you're so funny! Poor girl, she was absolutely terrified there."
Apology and Match Details
Djokovic offered an apology during his post-match on-court interview, saying: "Stefanos went to change so I had some spare time. I'm sorry if I scared her." He added: "I guess these kinds of things surface when you are two sets to love up rather than two sets to love down, but Stefanos went to change and I had some spare time! I don't know if she's still around, but I'm sorry if I scared her! It wasn't that great of a joke I guess, but it made me a bit more relaxed on the court! I was just having some fun."
Djokovic stormed to a 6-3 first-set victory under the roof on Centre Court against Tsitsipas, who has dropped from No. 3 to No. 87 in the world rankings. He broke for a 3-1 lead before recovering from 0-40 down on serve to clinch the set in just 26 minutes. The second set proved similar, and he wrapped up both sets within 63 minutes. He continued in the third, securing a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win. Djokovic will face No. 25 seed Arthur Rinderknech in round three on Friday.
