Grigor Dimitrov surprised Bulgarian junior tennis stars with free tickets to his Australian Open clash against Novak Djokovic

Grigor Dimitrov surprised five junior Bulgarian players and their coach by gifting them tickets for his third-round clash against Novak Djokovic on Rod Laver Arena at the 2023 Australian Open.

Iliyan Radulov, Adriano Jenev, Rositsa Dencheva, Ioana Konstatinova, Elizara Yaneva and their coach Presian Koev received the free tickets for Dimitrov's match with Djokovic, as reported by TennisKafe.

The youngsters were understandably elated to get access to the show court, which is usually not accessible for most juniors, and described the experience as a dream come true. Their coach, Koev, added that Dimitrov's heartwarming gesture should motivate the young players.

However, the result wasn't one that the young Bulgarians would have hoped for as Dimitrov went down in straight sets in what was anything but a straightforward contest. The Serb was hindered by an injury but managed to do enough to get through to the fourth round.

Dimitrov squandered three set points in the first set, which he lost, and there was no coming back from there.

With the loss, Grigor Dimitrov has dropped to 1-10 in his head-to-head with the former World No. 1.

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Dealing with the hamstring is a rollercoaster: Novak Djokovic after beating Grigor Dimitrov

The Serbian beat Grigor Dimitrov (not in pic) in the third round,

Despite an injury-plagued build-up to the tournament, Djokovic has reached his tenth Australian Open semifinal.

During his third-round clash against Dimitrov, Djokovic was clearly struggling with a hamstring injury, which he sustained during his title win at the Adelaide 1 event. After beating the Bulgarian, Djokovic explained the "rollercoaster" nature of his injury in his post-match press conference.

“It (hamstring) kind of always starts well in the last few matches, including this one, and then some movement happens and then it gets worse. Pills kick in, some hot cream and stuff. That works for a little bit, then it doesn’t, then works again. It’s really a rollercoaster, honestly.”

Putting a positive spin on things as his participation in the tournament was in doubt at one point, Djokovic said:

“It is what it is. It's kind of a circumstance that you have to accept. I’m just grateful that I’m actually able to play. The way it looked just before the tournament started, I thought that it won't be possible. I’m still here and still holding on.”

The 35-year-old is chasing a record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam title and a return to World No. 1 this week.

Djokovic will take on the first-time Grand Slam semi-finalist Tommy Paul on Friday (January 27) for a place in the final.