Serbian player Novak Djokovic is absolutely phenomenal on the tennis court. He is skillful as he is graceful on the court. The former world champion is a master who wields his power with his tennis racket. But his talents are not just limited to tennis, and he showed he is quite adept at basketball too.
The Serb recently showed off his prowess on the basketball court. Djokovic was seen throwing hoops with Andrey Rublev on the court. Both players participated in the Cincinnati Open. While Rublev got knocked out in the first round, Djokovic is in the finals.
Novak shared a couple of video clips of their basketball session together. They were joined by Andrei Kirilenko, the president of the Russian Basketball Federation. Djokovic tagged Kirilenko and asked what he thought of their skills.
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Novak Djokovic is a man of many talents. Therefore it is not surprising to see him netting the ball from behind the 3-point line. Nick Kyrgios, the Australian tennis player, joked that it was the one game he would surely defeat Djokovic in.
Of course, fans are in awe of his basketball skills too. A fan even compared Djokovic with Larry Bird, one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
Larry Bird.
— Margo Logan (@MargoLogan) August 19, 2023
Fans even complimented Novak’s shooting form. Another user thinks that even professional basketball players would be impressed by his release of the ball.
This release of a ball is something that even professional players would not be ashamed of.🤣
— GL (@harper_zli) August 19, 2023
what a beautiful style Nole.
— hanamama (@KNINEmobile) August 19, 2023
Novak Djokovic is playing on US soil for the first time in two years. It has been a good run so far, picking up from where he left back in Wimbledon. He defeated Alexander Zverev to make it to the Cincinnati final.
Novak Djokovic vs. Alexander Zverev match summary
A Wimbledon rematch is on the cards for Novak since he defeated Zverev in the semifinal. Djokovic has a good chance to level the scores against Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday.
The Serb defeated Zverev 7-6(5), 7-5 in straight sets, in their first match since the Nitto ATP finals in 2021. It was a tightly fought contest but Djokovic prevailed in the end.
It was entertaining as Zverev fought hard to stay afloat in a 10-minute service game when the scores were at 4-5. He did eventually force the first set into a tiebreak.
Novak Djokovic – Alexander Zverev – Cincinnati 2023pic.twitter.com/LGxZbbDhrC
— Djokovic best shots (@nolebestshots) August 20, 2023
Zverev broke him when he was serving for the match, but Novak recovered with a break of his own, and winning the match. Novak now leads their head-to-head 8-4.
Djokovic will face Alcaraz in the final match. Fans are anticipating a highly exciting contest between the two players. However, Novak is on a mission to redeem himself, and hence, it will not be an easy match for Alcaraz.