Jubilant England fans momentarily halted Novak Djokovic’s third round clash at Wimbledon – but the tennis star was loving the atmosphere.
The 37-year-old was preparing to return a serve from Alexei Popyrin on centre court at the same time the Three Lions booked their place in the Euro 2024 semi-final.
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England beat Switzerland in a dramatic penalty shootout victory, with substitute Trent Alexander-Arnold dispatching the deciding spot-kick.
As the versatile Liverpool man fired into the back of the net, fans inside centre court loudly cheered in unison.
It resulted in Djokovic, who was a set down at the time, being forced to take a step back to let the crowd celebrate together.
But instead of being left angry that the noise could have affected his return, he simply cracked a smile – along with his opponent.
Though you can be sure Djokovic wasn’t left impressed with England earlier in the tournament after Gareth Southgate’s men beat Serbia in Group C.
The Belgrade native offered a message of support to Serbia ahead of the match, but it was England who prevailed as 1-0 winners.
Social media was loving the wholesome reaction from Djokovic and Popyrin, who even performed a mock penalty shoot-out of their own on the court.
One X user said: “Great atmosphere and respect to both players.”
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Another commented: “What a great moment. And great awareness from the two players to take it all in good spirit. They read the room.”
Meanwhile this fan simply stated: “I love this. Great sport, Novak!”
Djokovic eventually prevailed in four sets again Popyrin, coming back from a set down to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4,7-6(3) and reach the fourth round.
“I assume it was a penalty shoot-out between England and Switzerland,” he said in his post-match interview on court, which was met with big cheers by attending fans.
“It felt like for a set and a half the crowd really wanted to understand what the score was in the football match.”
He then teased: “Did England win in the end?” Which was met with more cheers.
“Ah,” he added, “that’s why you guys stayed. Congrats to England. I tried to shoot a penalty, I’m left footed but Alexei defended it well.”
It wasn’t just at the tennis where fans celebrated England’s 5-3 penalty shootout victory in Dusseldorf.
In another video that has gone viral, cricket supporters from India’s World Championship of Legends match against rivals Pakistan at Edgbaston were more focused on the football.
Fans could be seen on the concourse watching the game – shown live on multiple TVs- with both sets of supporters coming together to celebrate in wholesome scenes.
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