It’s not too often opponents are happy accepting an autograph from someone who just dominated them.
But if you’re Novak Djokovic, it may just be alright.
After Djokovic cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Gael Monfils at the Cincinnati Open on Thursday night for a record 19th straight win against Monfils, the Serbian tennis legend left the Frenchman with a souvenir from the match.
“Sorry, not sorry,” Djokovic wrote on Monfils’ shirt after the match, adding a smiley face and his signature.
The 19th consecutive win against Monfils broke Rafael Nadal’s men’s singles’ Open Era record for most wins in a row against a single opponent, as Nadal previously held the title with 18 straight victories over Richard Gasquet.
“It may not have been the match I was hoping for against the GOAT, but it’s still an honor and a pleasure to face @DjokerNole,” Monfils wrote in French on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Despite everything, it remains a positive week. I’m going to rest to be on top at the US Open. Thank you so much for your incredible support.”
Djokovic and Monfils, both 36 years old, first met at the U.S. Open in 2005, when the two 18-year-olds played a legendary five-setter in which Djokovic lost the fourth set without winning a game but somehow came back to take the match.
Since that moment, their careers have gone in separate directions: Djokovic has won a record 23 Grand Slam singles titles, while Monfils has never captured a major championship but holds 11 ATP titles to his name.
“It was kind of an evolution of both players over the past 15-plus years that we’ve been playing each other in different parts of the world, also in juniors,” Djokovic said of the history between himself and Monfils.
“I think early on I struggled a lot with him, I think physically as well. When you play one of the most athletic guys on the tour, you have to be ready, every ball comes back. A couple of points today, especially in the first set, he showed his athleticism.”
Monfils is in the midst of something of a resurgence, having defeated world No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Canadian Open this month, as well as No. 15 Cameron Norrie in Cincinnati.
The Frenchman is currently ranked No. 211 in the world, having fallen from the No. 6 rank in 2016, his highest watermark.
Djokovic advances in Cincinnati to play the American Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals.
