Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has shared a heart-warming letter he received from a ball girl he helped during last year's Australian Open.
The Frenchman memorably stopped play during his second-round match in Melbourne in 2016 to check on the girl, who was fighting back tears after being struck by a ball.
Tsonga went on to help her off the court arm in arm before going on to beat home favourite Omar Jasika 7-5 6-1 6-4.
The 31-year-old, who beat Dan Evans on Sunday to reach the quarter-finals of this year's Australian Open, received plenty of praise at the time.
But the most touching came in a letter from the girl in question, Giuliana, which was published on Tsonga's official Twitter account.
It read: "Dear Mr Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
"I wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you for helping me out on court during your round 2 match. I'm not sure if you remember me but I was the ball girl you escorted off court.
"I would also like to take the opportunity to apologise for the times when you asked for the ball but I did not service it to you or acknowledge you.
"I had picked up a virus which I was unaware of and it caused me to become dizzy and light-headed. This also affected my vision and hearing.
"I apologise for not being able to perform my duties as a ball kid to the high standards that are expected.
"Thank you so much for the kindness that you showed me. I really appreciate that you were able to see that I needed some help and were kind enough to escort me off court."
Tsonga faces Stan Wawrinka in the quarter-finals and Giuliana finished the note by wishing the world number 12 "all the best for your upcoming games".
Source: PA
