'The cutest': Novak Djokovic's beautiful act inspires young fan
Novak Djokovic's small gesture to a young fan after his Wimbledon triumph has already had a special effect on the budding tennis star.
Tennis players often don't often see the profound effect their small gestures can have on young fans who stay up late to attend or watch their heroes.
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Which is why seeing seven-year-old Ivanka Li taking to the tennis court a day after Djokovic's Wimbledon title and with the winning racquet he granted her has warmed the hearts of fans.
Djokovic continued a beautiful new tradition by gifting his racquet to a young fan after winning Wimbledon.
As we saw at the French Open last month, Djokovic spotted a young girl in the crowd on Centre Court after his victory in Sunday's final, walking over to her and handing her his racquet.
Li had been cheering for her favourite player throughout the final against Matteo Berrettini and had even made a cute sign.
Djokovic replied the next day to the photo of the young fan smiling with a Tweet: 'She was the cutest'.
She was the cutest 🥰 https://t.co/0PDPecBlbE
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) July 12, 2021
But 24 hours later, Djokovic can see how profound such a small gesture from a 20-time Grand Slam champ can have on a fan.
The seven-year-old was filmed at the courts practising her tennis.
Tennis coach Dylan Gee took to the video and said Li had brought along Djokovic's racquet to training.
The coach was also seen admiring the racquet in the video.
Video of 7-year-old Ivanka Li playing in London and of the racket Novak Djokovic gave her at Wimbledon after his victory https://t.co/RuES6FTYro
— Christopher Clarey (@christophclarey) July 12, 2021
Novak Djokovic fan receivers winning racquet
The seven-year-old's sign featured an acrostic poem made out of Djokovic's first name, which read Number 1 Outstanding Victorious Ambitious Kissable.
The youngster beamed with delight as she inspected her new memento in front of her cheering father.
But Djokovic wasn't done there, also snapping a selfie with a young boy while making his way back to the court after climbing into the stands to celebrate with his team.
While Djokovic's gift might be priceless to the young fan, she could actually be in for some serious money.
Sports memorabilia experts told Yahoo Sports last month that Djokovic's gesture at the French Open could be worth tens of thousands of dollars if the boy put the racquet up for auction.
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