Watch: Novak Djokovic plays a round of keepie-uppies with Neymar and Marco Verratti in Monte-Carlo
Novak Djokovic begins his 2022 Monte-Carlo Masters campaign on Tuesday against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The Serb will be playing only his fourth match of the year.
Djokovic has had practice sessions with Jannik Sinner, Stan Wawrinka and Alexander Bublik in Monte-Carlo in the days leading up to the event. Today, however, the Serb was involved in a more casual session. The 20-time Grand Slam champion took part in a round of keepie-uppies with football superstars Neymar and Marco Verratti.
The PSG duo turned up at the venue to catch the day's tennis action, and were joined by the 34-year-old in providing some off-court entertainment for the fans.
@neymarjr #marcoverratti👌 @neymarjr #marcoverratti https://t.co/7eiZV4BWU8
Understandably, it was Djokovic who ended up losing. The World No. 1 kept up with Neymar and Verratti for a while but one of his touches proved too heavy. As hard as he tried, the Serb could not bring the ball back under control and it ended up hitting the ground.
@DjokerNole @neymarjr Djokovic with fans https://t.co/ySGm470Zve
The 34-year-old attempted to bury his embarrassment by pulling up his shirt to cover his face, but the Brazilian and Italian did not let him off so easily. After jovially teasing him for the "loss," Neymar and Verratti proceeded to shake hands with the champion and posed alongside him for photographers.
Novak Djokovic begins his quest for a third title at the Monte-Carlo Masters against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Novak Djokovic kicks off his 2022 Monte-Carlo Masters campaign against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The World No. 41 scored a straight-sets victory over Marcos Giron in the first round to set up a meeting with the Serb.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion has a 2-0 lead in the head-to-head against the Spaniard, having won their previous meetings at the Tokyo Olympics and the 2021 Rome Masters. The 34-year-old won both encounters without dropping a set and will come into this clash full of confidence.
#Djokovic will face Davidovich Fokina in the 2R in Monte Carlo. He has beaten him both times they faced off, both last year: 6-2 6-1 in Rome and 6-3 6-1 in Tokyo Olympics.
The Serb is a two-time winner in Monte-Carlo, having lifted the trophy in 2013 and 2015. In 2013, he defeated eight-time defending champion Rafael Nadal in the final, while he won in 2015 with a victory over Tomas Berdych.
A title this time around would pull the Serb level with Bjorn Borg, Thomas Muster and Ilie Nastase for the second-most crowns in Monte-Carlo in the Open Era, eight behind Nadal's record of 11 championships.