It used to be that the biggest ham in tennis was none other than Ham Richardson, America’s former No. 1 player and Davis Cup star. But in recent years, clearly, the premier ham in our game has been Novak Djokovic.
No Djok.
The inspired mime, who once gave us spot-on imitations of Maria Sharapova, Andy Roddick, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, is always the hit of the annual players show during the Monte Carlo Masters, where he has famously performed Michael Jackson routines, among others. The Serb’s post-match on-court interviews are always must-see events, and he loosened up in Melbourne by prancing about with a “Dancing With the Stars” celeb.
More recently, a Facebook fan posted a grainy, black-and-white photo circa the roaring ‘20s of daredevils Ivan Unger and Gladys Roy playing tennis atop the wings of a biplane in mid-flight. He asked, “Has anybody ever tried this?”
Head promised to give it a shot with one of its endorsees — reigning Aussie Open and Davis Cup champ Mr. Djokovic.
The result is a short film featuring Djokovic (his trusty Head YouTek IG Speed in hand) atop the wings of an old Antonov II biplane — a gotta-see-it-to-believe-it stunt that you’ll find at www.youtube.com/headtennis.
Sounds a little crazy, doesn’t it? But Novak Djokovic, who’s making a run at the No. 1 ranking, has always had lofty goals.
“I asked myself, ‘Is this really possible, playing tennis on the wings of an airplane?’ And I decided to accept the challenge,” said Djokovic.
