Tennis great Novak Djokovic visits young players on South Side

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Tennis player Novak Djokovic dropped in on tennis lessons Tuesday at XS Tennis and Education Foundation on Chicago's South Side.

Djokovic, who won Wimbeldon and the U.S. Open this year, surprised young players. He took them through some drills, gave high fives and shared some tennis (and life) lessons.

"The most important thing in life is to love what you do and never forget that you are never alone," Djokovic told the children.

Ranked No. 3 in the world, Djokovic is in Chicago for this weekend's Laver Cup.

More than 60 kids had a private audience with Djokovic as part of outreach he does on behalf of his foundation which invests in early childhood education, primarily in his native Serbia.

Half of the kids at Tuesday's event are from the local Serbian community, including Radovan Dardic, who just started playing tennis.

"It was like I was seeing heaven. It was awesome," young Radovan said.

The kids were stunned and thrilled.

"I kind of had a mini heart attack. I was like, 'Oh my God, he's really here,'" Nyla said.