Wimbledon 2016: Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech turns ball boy for friend Radek Stepanek after Euro 2016 exit

The Arsenal goalkeeper was helping his close friend Stepanek train ahead of Wimbledon

Petr Cech acts as a ball boy while Radek Stepanek and Lukas Rosol train at Wimbledon (Getty)

Petr Cech has only just seen his season end after the Czech Republic’s elimination from Euro 2016, but he has already embarked on his summer job as a Wimbledon ball boy after being pictured helping out his compatriot Radek Stepanek.

34-year-old Cech saw his European Championship hopes ended last week after the 2-2 draw with Croatia left the Czech Republic bottom of Group D with just a point to their name, having suffered defeats by Spain and Ukraine.

But that didn’t dampen Cech’s spirits, with the Arsenal goalkeeper all smiles as he stood courtside while Stepanek practiced ahead of the Wimbledon championship, which gets underway on Monday.

Cech also met fellow Czech Republic tennis star Lukas Rusol and Austrian Dominic Thiem, the latter a sel-confessed Chelsea fan who posed for a picture with the Blues favourite despite him now playing for arch-rivals Arsenal.

Cech acts as a ball boy during a training session at Wimbledon (Getty)

Cech poses for a photograph with Thiem at Wimbledon (Getty)

Thiem is a self-confessed Chelsea fan and appeared delighted to meet Cech (Getty)

Stepanek will need all the help he can get after qualifying for Wimbledon as a wildcard, with the Czech drawing Australian talent Nick Kyrgios in the first round on Tuesday.

37-year-old Stepanek reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon back in 2006, a run which remains his best ever performance at a grand slam, having played in every competition at SW19 since 2002 with the exception of 2010.


 Cech arrives courtside with Rosol and Stepanek 
 (Getty)

However, Stepanek has enjoyed much more success on the doubles stage having won both the Australian Open and the US Open in 2012 and 2013 respectively, while he reached the final of this year’s Australian Open playing alongside Daniel Nestor of Canada, where they eventually lost out to Britain’s Jamie Murray and his partner Bruno Soares.