Novak Djokovic makes Fabio Fognini revelation after Indian Wells doubles win
NOVAK DJOKOVIC has revealed which player makes him laugh the most on the ATP Tour ahead of his match against Philipp Kohlschreiber at Indian Wells.
The 31-year-old has labelled Fabio Fognini as "one of the funniest guys on the tour”.
Fognini is Djokovic’s doubles partner at the Indian Wells Masters and the Serbian praised the Italian after winning their round of 16 match against Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov on Sunday 6-4, 1-6, 10-8.
"Fabio is one of the funniest guys on the tour,” Djokovic said.
“We smile a lot on the court.”
Fabio is one of the funniest guys on the tour
Fognini, who is a Grand Slam men's doubles champion, jokingly reminded Djokovic of that fact during their on-court interview after the win.
"Remember that, Nole. Understand,” Fognini said.
The Italian won the men’s doubles at the Australian Open with compatriot Simone Bolelli in 2015.
He and Djokovic's next opponents will be Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau on Tuesday.
Before that game Djokovic will face Kohlschreiber in the men’s singles tonight.
Djokovic comes into the game off a 7-6, 6-2 victory over Bjorn Fratangelo.
The World No 1 took his 50th win at Indian Wells as he dispatched Fratangelo in two sets, but admitted he was a “bit nervous” during the match.
And that was because tennis legend Pete Sampras was in the crowd.
"I have to admit I was a bit nervous. I don't get to see Pete that often,” Djokovic said.
Novak Djokovic admits he was ‘nervous’ to see Sampras in 2019
“I was pleasantly surprised to see him watching my match.
“It's a thrill, obviously, to see someone that I looked up to when I was a kid. I think I tried too hard in the first set to impress him.
"It was really nice, and I went up to him and I thanked him for coming."
Kohlschreiber comes off a 6-4, 6-4 win over Nick Kyrgios, which took the German just over an hour to complete.