Novak Djokovic offered money to a retired Ukrainian tennis player who left his family behind and enlisted in the army amid the Russian invasion

• Ex-Ukrainian tennis pro Sergiy Stakhovsky shared a touching message from Novak Djokovic.
• Stakhovsky enlisted in Ukraine's reserve army last week amid the Russian invasion.

Novak Djokovic offered to send money and whatever help possible to the retired Ukrainian tennis player Sergiy Stakhovsky after he enlisted in country's reserve army amid the Russian invasion.

Stakhovsky retired in January after a successful career that saw him win four ATP singles titles and four doubles titles. He reached a career high of 31st in the world rankings in 2010.

The 36-year-old joined Ukraine's reserve forces last week, leaving his wife and children in Hungary to take up arms in Kyiv.

On Sunday, he posted a screenshot on Instagram of a WhatsApp conversation with Djokovic in which the Serbian offered his support.

"Thinking of you," Djokovic said to Stakhovsky. "Hoping all calms down soon. Please let me know what would be the best address to send help, financial help, any other help as well."

Stakhovsky replied to the world number two with a love heart emoji.

In an interview last week with Sky News, Stakhovsky detailed the heartbreaking moment he said goodbye to his family before travelling to Kyiv.

"We flew to Budapest and I kissed the kids goodbye," he said. "My wife knew I'd made a decision that she's not gonna like and she was upset.

"The little one, who is a daddy's boy, asked where I was going and I told him I'm just going to the garage and then I left."

The former tennis star went on to describe his harrowing journey back into Ukraine, which has been under siege by Russian forces since February 24.

"I crossed the border and I was the only one going the other way," he said. "There was a big queue of families, women and kids trying to escape.

"It was a tough journey but it was inspiring. While we were travelling we drove through a lot of cities and we saw the level of enthusiasm and motivation from people.

"They were blocking roads leading to villages, making barricades, getting out their hunting guns, making checkpoints.

"The whole nation is so extremely motivated to fight this off. It's insane what Russia is doing."

Since the start of the war, more than 2,000 civilians have been killed, according to Ukrainian authorities.