TENNIS ace Novak Djokovic sought out Scottish actor Gerard Butler immediately after his US Open victory at the weekend - to shout "this is Sparta".
The sportsman had been watching the actor in fantasy film 300 the night before his match final against Roger Federer and claimed he found it "inspiring".
The Serb beat Federer 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-4 at Flushing Meadows in New York on Sunday to win his 10th Grand Slam.
After his win he ran straight to his box and jumped into a crowd of jubilant supporters - including Paisley-born Mr Butler.
Mr Djokovic said: "We are good friends. He happened to be in the city over the last couple of days, so I invited him to come.
"I actually sent him a photo and a message last night. I was watching the 300 movie. When I went to my box, I looked at him and said, 'This is Sparta.' It felt great.
"That's one of the most inspiring movies I watched. So actually, yeah, he's a very cool guy."
However, the world number one added that he has to work on earning the support of tennis fans after facing hostility when he won.
"I'm there to earn the support and hopefully in the future I can be in that position," he said. "I can't sit here and criticise the crowd.
"On the contrary, I think it's logical to expect that a great player and a champion like Roger has the majority of the support anywhere I play him."
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