💥 BREAKING NEWS: An Olympic champion leaves Novak Djokovic visibly emotional during their first-ever meeting, stunning fans worldwide with the unexpected reaction ⚡IH

Djokovic has won 24 Grand Slam titles, which is more than any other player in the Open Era.

The Serbian has also been watched by some of the biggest stars on the planet, including Lionel Messi watching Djokovic at the Miami Open.

However, it was actually a multiple-time Winter Olympic champion who Djokovic claimed left him the most starstruck.

Novak Djokovic once said he felt starstruck meeting Alberto Tomba

Ahead of the 2023 edition of the French Open, Djokovic was asked a series of questions during a game of ‘Never Have I Ever’.

One of these questioned Djokovic over whether he had ever been starstruck in front of a celebrity before, to which he responded straight away by naming Olympic champion skier Alberto Tomba.

Djokovic met Tomba for the first time in Serbia, but he was also there for his victory at the Italian Open in 2014.

He also went on to name Pete Sampras, who called Djokovic the greatest of all time, and basketballer Michael Jordan as two of his other sporting idols.

“Tomba la Bomba” [Alberto Tomba], we used to remember him and cheer for him,” Djokovic said in 2023. “And, when I met him for the first time, it was in Serbia.

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“He came over. It was a very emotional experience for me. And, of course, meeting Pete Sampras. My third childhood sports idol was Michael Jordan, and I still haven’t met him, but I will probably be very starstruck if I do.”

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The moment when Novak Djokovic nearly met Michael Jordan

Although Djokovic has never met Jordan before, he actually did come really close to encountering one of his idols.

When speaking to Vice Serbia in 2019, Djokovic revealed that he nearly met Jordan in Monte Carlo after his wife spotted him, but it was too late when he got there.

“Jordan was in Monte Carlo, where I have been living for ten years,” said Djokovic. “I remember that I was having a break between training sessions.

“My wife was hanging in the city with her sister. My mobile phone rang, I had turned the audio off which I used to before we became parents when we had more time to rest, but at some point, I saw it continued and I was like, ‘What’s the matter? Who is looking for me?’” 

“I checked it and I found five missed calls by my wife. I answered and she told me: ‘Jordan is here, five meters in front of me.’ I was like: ‘Sorry?’ She replied: ‘Michael Jordan, your idol that you wanted to know so much. Come here straight away!’ I told her: ‘I am training this afternoon and I have to rest…’ I really said that. I turned the phone off, I thought about it and after ten minutes I came to her. But Jordan had already left. But never mind, we may meet each other somewhere. They told me he is a great golfer.”