Novak Djokovic Throws Shirt To Young Fan But It's Stolen After Win Over Rafael Nadal (VIDEO)

Ever the showman, Novak Djokovic did not disappoint in the aftermath of his historic five-set triumph over Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final. Despite playing the longest final in the history of the Open era, the Djoker somehow found the strength to tear off his shirt and then flex for the adoring -- and exhausted -- crowd. After collecting himself, but before collecting his third Australian Open winner's trophy, Djokovic turned to the stands to offer a few lucky fans a memento from the epic match.

After tossing a racquet into the stands behind his bench, the 24-year-old Serbian plucked an extra shirt from his bag and walked over to the edge of the crowd. He appeared to be tossing it in the direction of a young girl who was eagerly reaching out for it. After nearly six hours of all-out effort, Djokovic apparently couldn't muster the energy to get the shirt to his target soon enough as an older woman reached out and intercepted the souvenir much to the displeasure of the young fan, who stood jaw agape.

WATCH VIDEO ABOVE

The young girl, as well as an older man who seems to be her father, certainly were shocked by the stealth snag. Noting the grace with which Nadal handled what must have been an absolutely gutting defeat, it's possible this father-daughter tandem were the most upset people in Melbourne at this point.

PHOTOS: Djokovic vs. Nadal In Epic Final

Comments

[Mary Thompson]

06:01 PM on 02/01/2012

That guy's got a great bod. hehe

[phantom power]

01:48 PM on 02/01/2012

I understand that HP prefers to hire reporters that are "Special", but they can at least get someone who can actually read to do the video reports!

[Eric Giddens]

10:49 AM on 02/01/2012

It looks like the lady was reaching out also. I doubt she even noticed the girl, seeing as there were two people between them and she was focused on Novak.

[Mr Ware]

10:00 PM on 01/31/2012

What a terrible thing to do! I hope that she will be called the "The woman that stole the shirt from the girl." for the rest of her life. Also, her name is Yael Rothschild and in an interview with Australian media, she said she won't even consider giving the girl the shirt.

[jl4141]

09:59 AM on 01/31/2012

Yoink!

[SelfishBrat]

03:37 AM on 01/31/2012

U GOT A FRONT ROW SEAT AT THE TENNIS AND YOU ARE STILL COMPLAINING? Stupid girl. This is merely a publicity stunt to coax Djokovic to send her a signed shirt. Dont give into her rubbish. She is a spoilt brat. If you send a replacement shirt this once, u will always have to do it, because you will have set that precedent.

[jags1180]

06:56 PM on 01/31/2012

The hell's wrong with you? Either you're wearing a tinfoil hat or you're that fat woman who stole the shirt. By the way, use auto-correct, that way you can at least pretend you made it past third grade.

[phantom power]

01:50 PM on 02/01/2012

Typing police are out in full force lately!

[Daezed]

12:40 AM on 01/31/2012

Okay... that was unarguably a bitchy move. But what's with all the hatred on her because of her weight? Skinny people pull "dick moves" too. At a concert, they tossed out guitar picks and drumsticks used through the concert. One of them was tossed directly to me... it bounced off my and the girl's hands next to me and hit the ground. One of the security guys picked it up and wen to hand me the guitar pick, and the skinny pretty girl next to me literally took it right out of my fingers.

Do I dislike her for being skinny? Do I think she did it because "skinny people suck, they're all jerks who think they're better than me because I'm not skinny?"

... no, she did it because she was a jerk. Her weight had nothing to do with it. Just like the woman in question's weight has nothing to do with the fact that she was undeniably selfish in snatching that shirt from the gal it was tossed to.

Maybe the girl in question will get a shirt eventually anyway. In my case, the artist who tossed the pick at me saw what happened... and personally handed me a drumstick which he and the other two in the band signed first. And if the girl doesn't get her shirt in the end... well, there's always karma.

[Mary Thompson]

06:05 PM on 02/01/2012

Who cares about that woman! Look at Djokovic's body. That is no Djok...

[larryag]

01:52 PM on 02/06/2012

that is why a lot of people call women AIRHEADS

[goldengirl43]

08:39 PM on 01/30/2012

Looks like they have rude fat people somewhere else besides the USA.

[redconvoy]

05:47 PM on 01/30/2012

She is indeed classless.

[K White]

05:07 PM on 01/30/2012

I think it's awful to fight at sporting events, but if that shirt was truly intended for the young girl, I would have enjoyed watching her and her dad tussle with the big woman until the shirt was ripped to shreds. LOL!

[sleepingdogg]

04:57 PM on 01/30/2012

dang tennis hooligans.

[hgroopman]

04:37 PM on 01/30/2012

Couldn't Djoko just have given the kid a different shirt?

[sasweeney1]

04:25 PM on 01/30/2012

It's a natural reaction to grab for stuff thrown into the stands but it did look like the younger girl was the intended target. And on a side note, how cute is that Lucy Blodgett who introduced video!

[dverzic]

04:12 PM on 01/30/2012

Do we really know it was intended for some young girl? All I see is him tossing it randomly and walking away, not even looking to see where it ended up. Come on people. If he intended it to go to her he should have handed it directly to her.

[Vimala Nowlis]

04:11 PM on 01/30/2012

Good catch! People launch to grab at things players tossed all the time. People dive off the platform to snatch at things in games all the time. He was throwing the shirt in that general direction with no specific target identified. How do you know he was tossing it to a pretty young female instead of that fat older woman? He walked away and did not make a scene so why should you?

[zasmlk]

05:24 PM on 01/30/2012

My thoughts exactly.

[Mr Ware]

10:05 PM on 01/31/2012

No... He wasn't. He did intend to give it to the girl. He said to Australian press that he did intend to give it to the girl. He was too tired to even notice. Don't assume. Do research.

[dverzic]

11:00 AM on 02/01/2012

I've got better things to do than research whether or not this guy intended to give it to the girl. I was just going by what the article said. Lighten up for Pete's sake.