If there were doubts that Novak Djokovic's popularity with tennis crowds is pretty modest, then that notion is wrong, judging by how the Serb was received by excited fans at UCLA.
Djokovic is currently putting in the hard yards ahead of his first match at Indian Wells in five years. He was among the first to arrive in the United States, boarding the same plane as that of 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal.
The early flight to stateside wasn't all tennis-related. Djokovic was accompanied by his nine-year-old son Stefan to watch Argentina football superstar Lionel Messi in action while playing for Inter Miami in a match against LA Galaxy in California.
The Serb was recently in the tennis confines of the University of California, where he took part in a practice session that was attended by hundreds of tennis fans, mostly students. He treated the crowd to a fun-filled practice in which Djokovic was videotaped pulling off a sumptuous shot.
After the practice session, several tennis fans left their seats to head to the court and swarmed around Djokovic, looking to get up close to the 24-time major winner. Almost every one of the enthusiastic aficionados had a phone in hand to capture their most coveted portrait photo.
Worryingly, though, there was little to no security from the video being shared in which fans flocked in their hundreds to the court. Nevertheless, it was a lovely moment for Djokovic and his fans to connect. UCLA is only about a three-hour drive from Indian Wells.
Djokovic is the top seed in Indian Wells and has already shared his first message to his fans on the tournament's official social media.
Indian Wells is one of his happy hunting grounds. He has the first Masters of the season on five occasions and will look to break the two-man tie with Roger Federer and win his sixth title.
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