Novak Djokovic hopes to play snooker with ‘childhood hero’ Ronnie O’Sullivan who was in the Serb’s box cheering for him during Wimbledon

O'Sullivan was at Wimbledon to support Djokovic, who later revealed how, due to the 48-year-old English player, he started watching snooker. 

Novak Djokovic hopes to play snooker with ‘childhood hero’ Ronnie O’Sullivan who was in the Serb’s box cheering for him during Wimbledon

Ronnie O'Sullivan, Novak Djokovic (Images via Imago)

Ronnie O’Sullivan was watching the Wimbledon first-round match from Novak Djokovic‘s box when he was taking on Vit Kopriva on July 2 on the Center Court. The Serb was full of praise after meeting the snooker champion for the first time. 

Djokovic, who came to Wimbledon after nursing a knee injury he suffered during the Roland Garros, played with ease to make it to the second round in an hour and 58 minutes with scores of 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. O’Sullivan was there to support Djokovic, who later revealed how, due to the 48-year-old English player, he started watching snooker. 

YouTube video
I'm his fan. I watch snooker just because of him. I watched it when I was a kid. Honestly, I watched him play many years ago. My father loved watching snooker. I only watched Ronnie. Whenever he did not play, I would not watch.  
Novak Djokovic said at the press conference

The 37-year-old called the Rocket one of sports’ great men and expressed his gratitude for cheering for him. Djokovic also wishes to play snooker with O’Sullivan but admitted that he is not a good player. 

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Hopefully, we'll be able to play some snooker because I'm terrible at snooker. I'm okay at pool or billiards, but snooker, I have tried twice, and it's really, really tough. Yeah, it's amazing. He's a nice person, a nice guy, and very funny. 
Novak Djokovic added 

O’Sullivan has won the World Snooker Championships seven times and won a record eight Masters titles. He also holds the Guinness World Record for fastest competitive maximum break.

Novak Djokovic will next face Jacob Fearnley

Jacob Fearnley, who beat Grand Slam champions Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner during his junior days, won his first major match over Alejandro Moro Canas 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (14-12). Before meeting the Spanish player, Fearnley played his first match on the ATP Tour at the Eastbourne Open last week and lost it in the first round. 

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic (Image via Imago)

Fearnley admitted that he doesn’t think he can take anything from the wins over Sinner and Alcaraz. His next big target is to secure a win over Novak Djokovic and admitted that he has no idea how to beat the Serb who has won a record 24 Grand Slam titles in his career. 

Djokovic and Fearnley will meet for the first time and the former, as well, admitted that he knows nothing about Fearnley and his game and will be doing the homework before the match. The Serb will meet Fearnley on July 4. 

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