'You were fanboying': Maria Sharapova lifts the lid on date with Novak Djokovic

Recently retired tennis star Maria Sharapova has called out 17-time Grand Slam champ Novak Djokovic for a dinner they shared at the beginning of the Serb’s career.

World No.1 Djokovic and Sharapova shared an Instagram Live chat during their self-isolation and the Russian revealed the hilarious dinner date they shared following and exhibition tournament.

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Well before Djokovic had made a name for himself as a Grand Slam champ, the pair were playing doubles against each other at La Quinta in Indian Wells.

Sharapova said Djokovic made a cheeky bet as they were standing across the net - if he won she had to go to dinner with him.

“I was like, ‘OK whatever, who is this kid?’” she joked, retelling the story on Instagram Live.

But after Djokovic won, he surprised her by following through with the wager.

“You won and you’re like, ‘We have dinner, tonight. We’re going to the Japanese place’. And I was like, ‘Are you serious? You and me are going to dinner? Tonight?’” she said.

“So we did! We ended up going to dinner.”

Both Sharapova and Djokovic were born in 1987, but the Russian burst onto the scene and won the Australian Open in 2004 at a younger age.

Djokovic captured his first Grand Slam in 2008.

Sharapova revealed this could have been why Djokovic went a tad overboard and was quick to ask for a photo.

“It was so funny, you pulled out what I think was this old Kodak camera and you asked the waiter to take a photo of us. I was like, ‘This feels like I auctioned myself off for dinner,” she joked.

“I think you were fanboying, you had a big fanboy moment.”

The pair couldn’t help but laugh at the fond memory.

Novak Djokovic in hot water

The Spanish tennis club where Djokovic was seen training in violation of the country's strict lockdown rules has confirmed it had given the world No.1 permission to play there.

Djokovic posted a video of himself on social media practising on a court at the Puente Romano tennis club in Marbella on Monday, the first day athletes were allowed to return to individual training in over a month.

The video showed him exchanging shots with another man at a tennis club in the coastal city of Marbella, where the Serb has reportedly stayed.

But the club clarified the incident.

"We understood that professional athletes were able to train and authorised Mr Djokovic to use our facilities. After speaking with the tennis federation they made it clear to us he had to wait until 11 May to use the tennis club," said the Puente Romano statement.

"We shared this clarification with Mr Djokovic and both parties have agreed to restart training from that day. We regret that our misinterpretation of the rules may have inconvenienced Mr Djokovic in good faith."