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A close-up of Tomas Berdych's adidas shoes he was wearing during 2017 Wimbledon SF - Berdych came out for his semi-final match against Roger Federer on Friday afternoon with shoes which had Djokovic’s face emblazoned on the tongue of his trainers

Tomas Berdych pays tribute to Novak Djokovic during Wimbledon semi-final

Tomas Berdych showed a touch of class by paying tribute to Novak Djokovic after the Serb was forced to retire due to injury during their quarter final match on Wednesday.

final match against Roger Federer on Friday afternoon with shoes which had Djokovic’s face emblazoned on the tongue of his trainers, as well as the name ‘Novak’ down the side - scroll down to see the pictures.

The world no. 14 wasn’t expected to progress to face Federer but Djokovic, who has been struggling with fitness and form in the last few months, was forced to retire prematurely with an elbow injury after the Czech star had taken a one set lead and was two games up in the second set.

Given that they share dressing rooms while on tour, it’s no strange thing for tennis players to become close, but rarely do we see an act of camaraderie such as this.

Perhaps some of Berdych’s sympathy came from the fact that Djokovic admitted afterwards that he may have to take an extended break from tennis.

Unfortunately, Berdych's new shoes did not prove to be a lucky charm as he succumbed to a straight sets loss to Federer.

The Swiss legend booked his place in Sunday's final against Marin Cilic with a 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 victory and now has the opportunity to claim an eighth Wimbledon title.