Abu Dhabi: Keen football fan Novak Djokovic said it was ‘an awesome experience’ to share the limelight with the galacticos of Real Madrid on Tuesday night.
Djokovic displayed his keepy-uppy skills at half-time in the friendly match between Real and AC Milan at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai, much to the delight of a packed crowd of 40,000.
The Serb said he ‘enjoyed every moment’ of his cameo appearance and said he seizes every chance to learn from other sports.
Djokovic, who gets his Mubadala World Tennis Championship title defence underway in Abu Dhabi on Friday, said: “I think like every athlete, I like to watch other sports and football is one of them. I follow my team from Serbia — Red Star Belgrade.
“I like to watch other big teams live and I was very happy to hear that Madrid and AC Milan were playing against each other in a friendly game. It was a great atmosphere and I enjoyed every moment on the pitch. I got to kick off with the ball and have a few words with [Real Madrid players] Gareth Bale and [Karim] Benzema.
“Gareth was very, very nice to me and I felt comfortable. It was awesome to see it live.”
He added: “As an athlete, I observe the way they [the footballers] move and the way they kind of anticipate [moves]. Team sport is very different to individual ones, so it was a very interesting experience.”
