Tennis fans were in for a pleasant surprise at the finals of the Rugby World Cup between South Africa and New Zealand. A valiant rallying effort from the All Blacks was not enough to prevent the Springboks from winning the Rugby World Cup title for the fourth time. South Africa won the Rugby World Cup for the fourth time and became the only nation to do so.
The thrilling match saw its share of ebbs and flows, with fans thoroughly invested in it. However, behind all the fan power fueling both teams, some of it came from tennis, too. Tennis legends Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, lovers of rugby, also added their fan power behind their favorite teams.
Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic make an appearance in the finals of the Rugby World Cup
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Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, the two greats of tennis, proved that their second love after tennis is certainly rugby as both of them were seen today cheering for their favorite teams in the stadium. The Swiss Maestro was there to support South Africa, as it is the homeland of his mother. He was seen wearing a green-and-gold-colored scarf and cheering for the Springboks in the stands.
Roger at the rugby world cup final! 😍 pic.twitter.com/mf4RP5jslN
— Juan Ignacio | #Santiago2023 (@juanignacio_ac) October 28, 2023
Federer looked intensely focused on the match, and surely he enjoyed it thoroughly. His son also accompanied him to the match sporting the same merchandise as him. On the other hand, Novak Djokovic was also present in the stands, but not alone. He was present there with Rita Ora after the controversial Serbian flag incident. Let’s take a look at that, too, shall we?
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Novak Djokovic attends the Rugby World Cup finals with Rita Ora
Novak Djokovic was seen attending the blockbuster rugby World Cup finals between New Zealand and South Africa with a surprising companion. It was Rita Ora. Rita Ora and Novak Djokovic were inadvertently connected due to a recent billboard incident. And now she was spotted attending the match along with him. However, something rather more attention-worthy connected the two, as a fan hinted back at a recent controversy that Ora was embroiled in.
Novak Djokovic liked Rita Ora's Serbia flag so much he decided to watch the Rugby World Cup final with her. https://t.co/gn21p81T1H pic.twitter.com/oMKUcJgSSz
— Sam Street (@samstreetwrites) October 28, 2023
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Ora recently fronted the news for the wrong reasons after she mistakenly waved a Serbian flag at her concert, which a fan had tossed onstage, taking it to be a Hungarian one. The incident drew significant social media criticism as Kosovo-born Ora was thought to have disrespected her roots since Kosovo and Serbia have shared a tense history.
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However, Ora and Djokovic, who is Serbian, seemed to share no animosity as they gleefully watched the match unfold in France. Fans were both surprised and excited after spotting them in the stands during the spellbinding finale that ended in favor of Federer’s home team, South Africa. Do you think we will see more of the Djokovic-Ora partnership in other renowned sporting events? And what do you make of the serendipitous Nole-Fed almost-encounter?
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