Novak Djokovic's French Open-Winning Racket, Caught By Lucky Fan, Hits Auction

A tennis fan, like a lottery ticket landing in her lap, caught Novak Djokovic's French Open final-winning racket after an epic match with Andy Murray in 2016 ... and now the piece of tennis history is up for auction!

The backstory is awesome -- Abby Doherty, a college student in 2016, traveled to Paris with her family to watch the famed French Open at Roland-Garros ... where she witnessed several matches, including the much-awaited tourney final between top-seeded Djokovic and 2nd-seeded Murray. Two all-time players.

Novak dropped the opening set of the June match, 3-6, before ticking off three sets in a row (6-1, 6-2, 6-4), and securing another F.O. title.

Djokovich was over the moon ... and after a bunch of celebrating (and a moment of good sportsmanship with Murray), the tennis legend used his Head racket to draw a heart in the famous clay court.

Then, Novak launched the Head racket into the crowd ... right where Abby was seated. She stuck her hand out, and boom -- snatched it out of the air!

Her dad almost immediately took a photo of his daughter, who was beaming.

That same Head Speed Graphene Touch PT113B racket, which has been photo-matched by experts to the French Open final (and several other French Open matches, including the Semifinals), is now available at SCP Auctions ... and their experts believe it could sell in excess of $100 grand!

The 27-inch long racket features Novak's custom double-wrapped, calfskin leather grip ... and shows signs of wear and tear from the match with Murray.

The win also marked a "calendar year" Grand Slam for N.D. ... meaning he won all 4 Major events (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, US Open) within a 365-day period.

With 24 Major titles (including 3 French Open wins), Djokovic is widely considered the greatest tennis player of all time. Rafael Nadal has 22, followed by Roger Federer at 20, and Pete Sampras with 14.