Djokovic praised for ‘classy gesture’ after helping woman in Paris (VIDEO)
Novak Djokovic is widely regarded as one of the all-time greats of his sport, but fans were impressed by the Serbian tennis player’s humility as he helped a woman with her heavy luggage in a Paris park.
Djokovic, 35, is preparing to defend his title at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament which gets underway in the French capital this week.
Ahead of the event, Djokovic was seen going for a jog in the Bercy area of the city, and found time to stop and help an elderly lady who was struggling with her suitcase.
The tennis star picked up the luggage and carried it along the path before waiting for the woman to catch up.
Footage of the scenes was shared by Twitter user @iamjomoreira, who wrote: “It’s a very classy gesture on his part and proves that no matter who you are and how much you touch in life, you have to know how to stay humble.”
“This is nice: Djokovic helping an elderly person in Paris,” wrote tennis journalist Jose Morgado, adding a clapping emoji.
Djokovic’s coach Marco Panichi also shared footage of the incident on his Instagram account.
“During the warm-up in the park, he left me with an elastic band in hand and ran over to help a lady who had a problem with her luggage and helped her to the station. Obviously the training was over, but I’m still happy. Simply, Nole,” Panichi captioned the video, according to Serbian outlet Telegraf.
Djokovic is due to start the defense of his Paris title on Tuesday, where he will be seeded sixth, but is yet to learn the name of his opponent.
The 21-time Grand Slam champion won last year’s Paris Masters crown after beating Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in the final, earning a record sixth title at the event.
Medvedev – the 2020 Paris Masters winner – will also be among those contesting the title again, and the Russian heads into the tournament in good form, having won the Vienna Open at the weekend.
“I feel great in this tournament,” Djokovic said on the eve of this year’s tournament.
“[It] always helps to come into the tournament confident and with some good memories, good emotions on the court. [The] past few times that I played here, I won both tournaments... Hopefully I can continue that run.”
Djokovic won his last ATP title at the Astana Open earlier this month, beating Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets in the final.
