- Novak Djokovic tried his hand at wheelchair tennis during an event in Melbourne
- The superstar was mic’d up and his shouts reduced the large crowd to hysterics
- One particular shot down the baseline caused Djokovic to scream ‘no, not there!’
Novak Djokovic proved he is human after all after trying out wheelchair tennis at a charity event in Melbourne and leaving the crowd in stitches due to his struggles.
A sensational line-up of sports superstars joined Djokovic for an evening to remember on Rod Laver Arena ahead of the first round of the Australian Open.
Spectators secured their seats to watch Djokovic take on a variety of challenges, including cricket with Steve Smith and basketball with former NBA player Alan Williams. Track star Peter Bol also put him through his paces in running drills.
However, arguably the highlight of the night was Djokovic strapping himself into a wheelchair and attempting to take part in a rally while unsteadily moving around.
Rounding off the event, Aryna Sabalenka, the defending Australian Open champion, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Maria Sakkari and Aussie wheelchair tennis player Heath Davidson took to the court and threw themselves into a chaotic match of sorts.
On one side of the court, Djokovic, clad in blue, struggled to guide his chair closer to the net to return several shots, with his opponents keen to ease him into the action.
Davidson and his doubles partner Sakkari began to apply the pressure after serving, however, with Djokovic’s own partner, a tennis prodigy nicknamed Mini Novak, forced to race across almost the full width of the court for returns.
Eventually, Davidson hit a forehand down the line that arrowed to Djokovic’s right and the world No 1 unsurprisingly couldn’t make contact after dangling his racket.
‘Oh, no! Not there!’ Djokovic exclaimed, reducing the crowd to hysterics.
The match then progressed to a tiebreak and Djokovic, forced to resort to desperate measures, drafted in help from both Sabalenka and Tsitsipas.
Pushed along by both players, Djokovic, still sat awkwardly in the chair, attempted a forehand from a Sakkari shot but skewed it horribly wide of the right-hand baseline.
With the score 4-2 to Tsitsipas’ team, the game was ended, allowing Djokovic to rise.
‘Oh, my god!’ he said, hobbling away in visible discomfort after standing up.
Djokovic, a 10-time champion in Melbourne, will start his defence of his title against a qualifier, with Andy Murray a potential opponent in the third round.
Should he progress from the first round, he will then face the winner of the all-Australian showdown between Alexei Popyrin and Marc Polmans.
