Novak Djokovic sends love to 6-year-old superfan, expresses gratitude for his support throughout 2023 season

Novak Djokovic recently expressed his gratitude to his six-year-old superfan Ricky Rossello, who made a video montage of him cheering on the Serb throughout the last tennis season.

Rossello is a huge fan of the World No. 1 and has been following his matches on TV and in person. He had the chance to meet his idol last year at the 2023 US Open, where he also saw him win his 24th Grand Slam title. In the video, Ricky can be seen shouting words of encouragement and praise for the Serb.

"We need to pray for him for his positivity, he needs my positivity and I’m giving it. Go Djokovic, you are my best friend," he can be heard saying in the clip.

The Serb shared the video on his Instagram story and wrote:

"Love you Ricky, thank you for supporting me."

Novak Djokovic on Instagram

Djokovic is currently playing at the 2024 Australian Open, where he is aiming to win his 11th title. He recently crushed 20th-seeded Adrian Mannarino 6-0, 6-0, 6-3 in the fourth round to advance to the quarterfinals.

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Novak Djokovic to face Taylor Fritz at the 2024 Australian Open QF

US Open 2023

Novak Djokovic will face Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Australian Open on Tuesday, January 23.

The Serb has been in dominant form in Melbourne, dropping only two sets in his four matches so far. He defeated Dino Prizmic, Alexei Popyrin, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, and Adrian Mannarino, extending his winning streak at the Australian Open to 32 matches.

Fritz, on the other hand, upset last year’s runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas in four sets in the fourth round. The 26-year-old has also defeated Facundo Diaz Acosta, Hugo Gaston, and Fabian Marozsan en route to his first Australian Open quarterfinal.

The match will be the ninth encounter between the two players, with the Serb leading the head-to-head 8-0. The winner will face either fourth seed Jannik Sinner or fifth seed Andrey Rublev in the semifinals.

Both players are also adept at playing on hard courts, as evidenced by their titles at the 2022 Indian Wells Masters (Fritz) and the 2023 US Open (Djokovic). However, the World No. 1 has the edge in experience, having won seven out of their eight matches in straight sets, excluding the third-round encounter at the 2021 Australian Open, where the Serb defeated the American in a five-set thriller.