WATCH: Novak Djokovic's biggest fan Kojiro Owaki celebrates Rome triumph with world no. 1

Tuesday, 17 May 2022 at 08:45

Updated at Friday, 08 November 2024 at 18:31

byNurein Ahmed

Novak Djokovic's superfan, Kojiro Owaki, has become a tennis sensation, and his recent celebration following the Serb's triumph in Rome has gone viral.

Kojiro Owaki is a six-year-old aspiring tennis player from Japan who is a huge fan of Djokovic and met his idol in person a few weeks ago at the 2022 Serbia Open after the 20-time Grand Slam champion invited him to watch him play.

The young boy had the chance of a lifetime and seized it, training on the same court as Djokovic in Belgarde as the 34-year-old made a stop in his home country to play at the ATP 250 event in the build-up to the French Open.

Kojiro practiced his volleying skills and received valuable tips from Djokovic, who showered him with praise for his net game. Their interaction was made a reality after Djokovic fulfilled his dream by issuing him an invitation to fly to Serbia.

Although Djokovic did not win the title in Belgrade, he ended his trophyless start to 2022 in style by winning the Italian Open last Sunday in straight sets over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.

The Japanese youngster reproduced Djokovic's famous celebration of raising his racket and executing the boob throw to the crowd.

In the video shared on Kojiro's Twitter account, which he co-owns with his brother, he was holding a racket that was gifted to him by Djokovic as he mimicked the Serb's celebration.

The victory in Rome was Djokovic's sixth title at the Foro Italico, and it couldn't have been more timely. As you may remember, he had an inauspicious start to 2022, mainly because of his unvaccination status against the coronavirus, which resulted in his deportation from Australia.

Djokovic couldn't travel to the United States to compete in the Sunshine Double, which meant he only played a tournament between January and mid-April.