Djokovic pranks ball girl, gets green-eyed over McIlroy's jacket

So relaxed was Novak Djokovic during his demolition job over Stefanos Tsitsipas at Wimbledon, he pranked an unsuspecting ball girl by crying out in pain as she followed his orders to cut off some black tape from his right shoulder with a pair of scissors.

Thinking she had injured the Serbian great in front of a global audience of millions, the shocked girl took a step back clutching her chest, possibly thinking she was just about to have a heart attack after messing up a simple job.

Within a fraction of a second, Djokovic burst out laughing — much to the relief of his unsuspecting victim who also dissolved into giggles, as she realized it had all been a big joke.

"These kinds of things surface when you are two sets to love up, rather than two sets to love down, but I'm sorry if I scared her... it made me a bit more relaxed on the court. I was just having some fun," the 24-time Grand Slam champion said after handing Tsitsipas a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 flogging on Wednesday.

The manner of his crushing victory over his Greek rival meant the jokes kept flowing for Djokovic, who spotted twice Masters champion Rory McIlroy wearing his Green Jacket in Centre Court's Royal Box.

"Rory, what a beautiful jacket," Djokovic, who had slipped back into the personalized cream blazer that he has been sporting during this year's championships, said during the on-court interview.

"Is that a Masters Jacket?" Djokovic asked the smiling Northern Irishman, who nodded his head to confirm that it was.

"I want that jacket. I'll play you. This jacket for that jacket, we play tennis, not golf," he added, tugging at his own blazer, with the amused crowd roaring their approval.

REUTERS