Novak Djokovic was just fooling around, but when the world’s top player in men’s tennis whipped out a golf club at Centre Court before winning his first match at Wimbledon on Monday, the proper tennis crowd apparently did not approve.
Golf Club Prank Irks Wimbledon Patrons
“It was a little joke we wanted to do with my sponsor. They provided me with a junior golf club because the bags look like golf bags. You can place them the way the golf bag is standing,” Djokovic told the Associated Press after he took a child’s golf club from his tennis bag and placed it on the sideline before facing Juan Carlos Ferraro. The spectators were not amused.
“So it was a little funny thing. Being creative, that’s all,” Djokovic said about his prank that registered just this side of “meh” on the fun-o-meter. “But the fans corrected me right away. They said, ‘This is not a golf course’. I said, ‘Okay.’”
Djokovic, who shared his knowledge of London’s 18-hole tracks when he remarked that, “Royal Wimbledon Golf Course is really nice,” might appreciate Mark Twain’s purported assessment of the game played on grass that is not part of the All-England Club.
“We do get to play on off days,” said the 25-year-old Serb. “Not really good at it, but enjoying the walk in the park.”
Djokovic overcame a shaky start to defeat Ferrero 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 and make it to the second round of the two-week Grand Slam tennis tourney.
