Cheerful! Novak Djokovic pranks girl with ball, leaves Wimbledon crowd in splits – Watch

Novak Djokovic pranks a girl with a ball (Screengrabs) Novak Djokovic entertained fans at Wimbledon 2026 with a playful prank before producing another dominant performance to reach the third round. During an exchange in his second round match against Stefanos Tsitsipas, Djokovic asked the ball girl to help him remove a tag from the back of his shirt. He then jokingly pretended that she had accidentally hurt him, briefly leaving the young man in shock before revealing that he was only joking.The light-hearted moment quickly went viral, with fans enjoying the Serbian star’s sense of humor. Watch:Speaking after the match, Djokovic admitted that the prank was probably inspired by the comfortable position he was in during the match. “I think those things come to the surface when you love two sets up more than two sets down,” Djokovic said with a smile. He added: “Stefanos went to change so I had some free time. I’m sorry. I don’t know if he’s around. I’m sorry if I scared her. It probably wasn’t such a great joke, I guess.”Djokovic made sure the fun continued on the court as he defeated Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in less than two hours. The 24-time Grand Slam champion looked far more comfortable than in his opening-round victory, extending his winning streak against the Greek star to 12 matches.“It kind of relaxed me. She was laughing. It was a good moment for her too,” Djokovic said, reflecting on the prank. The Serb was particularly effective on serve, winning 82 percent of his first game points and taking control of the match from start to finish.The win keeps alive Djokovic’s hopes of a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title and a historic 25th Grand Slam singles crown. The Serbian, seeded seventh this year, will face Arthur Rinderknech in the third round as he continues his quest for more history at Wimbledon.