Novak Djokovic mourns death of first coach Jelena Gencic
Death of first coach leaves Serbian devastated after celebrating a convincing straight-sets third-round victory at Roland Garros
Novak Djokovic's day at the French Open quickly turned from lightheartedness to grief.
After making up for a recent loss to Grigor Dimitrov by beating him 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the fourth round, the top-ranked Djokovic amazed the centre-court crowd by speaking to them in decent French.
The charm offensive reached its peak when Djokovic pledged to open a Serbian restaurant in Paris one day, drawing a roar of appreciation that could probably be heard all around the Roland Garros precinct.
Minutes later, his mood was quite different.
When Djokovic returned to the locker room, his team delivered the news that his first coach, Jelena Gencic, had died in Belgrade, Serbia, at the age of 76. She coached him for about five years, starting when Djokovic was six.
It was the second time in a little more than a year that Djokovic had been hit by a personal loss during a tournament.
At the Monte Carlo Masters in April last year, he learned of his grandfather's death and decided to keep playing, winning his third-round match just hours later. He reached the final.