Novak Djokovic 'honoured' to play in front of 'avid tennis fan' Jose Mourinho at Italian Open

Novak Djokovic has opened up on his relationship with Jose Mourinho after the Roma boss was seen watching the Serb at the Italian Open on Friday. A day earlier, Mourinho was in the dugout to mastermind his Roma side’s 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final. Ad Whether he gave his players the following day off is not clear, but the Portuguese took time out to take in a bit of the tennis in Rome.

ATP RomeDjokovic overcomes slow start to progress at Italian Open15 HOURS AGO According to Djokovic, Mourinho is an “avid tennis fan” and the pair have a close bond. Mourinho has been to watch Djokovic on a number of occasions, and the 22-time Grand Slam winner is honoured to have his backing. “Yes, I met him,” Djokovic said following his win over Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

“I met him more than a few times in the past year. “He was coming to watch me play in London, especially in the World Tour finals. We had the tournament there for many years, and he was coaching in London, so he was coming to watch.

“He's an avid tennis fan. And, of course, one of the greatest football coaches that we have, not just today, but in history. “So I'm really honoured that he's coming to watch, watch my matches.

I really appreciate that. A very, very nice person and always was very kind to me and my team.” Rune looking forward to 'wild' Fognini clash at Italian Open, Ruud wins Exclusive: Becker – Alcaraz is ‘rewriting tennis history’ Roma are next in action away to Bologna on Sunday, which would clash with Djokovic’s next outing at the Italian Open. At some stage, Djokovic is looking to take in a Roma match with Mourinho at the helm.