Local Italians around the Piazza San Carlo in Turin received an unforgettable surprise on Friday morning.
The singles competitors at the Nitto ATP Finals — Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, Matteo Berrettini, Hubert Hurkacz and Casper Ruud — walked by to take their official group photo near the Piazza ahead of the season finale.
“Tennis has been booming on the men’s side in Italy, with Matteo, [Fabio] Fognini and [Jannik] Sinner in the past couple of years,” Djokovic said. “There is a good vibe in the city and everyone looks forward to supporting the tournament, and Matteo in particular. Everyone here wants to finish off the year in the best possible way.”
The stars said in unison “Takeover Torino!” as they departed the player hotel for the Piazza. It did not take long for locals to realise who was passing by.
Several players had fans shout their names en route, and one man even told Djokovic, “I need a coach for my next tournament!”, eliciting a laugh from the World No. 1.
Djokovic, who will chase a record-tying sixth Nitto ATP Finals title from 14-21 November at the Pala Alpitour, told Hurkacz and Tsitsipas during their walk that he competed in Turin when he was 15.
Asked for advice he would give Hurkacz — who was wearing a tan turtleneck sweater with a dark-coloured blazer over it — on his tournament debut, the Serbian quickly said he might need advice from the Pole.
“He already is setting a trend here with his fashion statement today!” Djokovic said.
With dozens of fans snapping pictures and taking videos on their phones, the eight players walked up and down a path to capture the photo, before returning to the hotel to get transport to the venue for media day.