He's a champion on the court and now the king of the slopes.
Serbian tennis ace Novak Djokovic donned his woolly hat and gloves for a quick trip to Ski Dubai, the world's largest snow park, ahead of his second round match at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships.
Skiing is the star's second true passion in life, after tennis of course. He learned to ski even before he picked up a racket and made a point of showcasing his impressive skiing skills on the indoor run in Dubai.
Djokovic inherited his love for skiing from his father, a former champion skier, and his mother who also gave lessons as an instructor at the Genex School in Kopaonik.
Funny man
He laughed and joked with staff as he made his way up the ski lift and looked at home in the snow. At the top of the run he had people in stitches as he pretended not to be able to ski. He said: "I took up skiing before I learnt to play tennis at the age of 4. It is a great sport, it's a lot of fun and it's a huge passion.
"It is something I have done all my life, but of course it isn't recommended for tennis players to ski because of the possibility of injury. I have never been scared on the slopes and have always been careful.”
‘Strong Competition'
Djokovic, who captured his maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January having finished runner-up at the US Open in September 2007, is the third seed at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships this week.
"It's a very special situation this year, as you have eight of the top 10 players competing here,” said Djokovic. "It's is an extremely strong competition and a big challenge for the players to prove their quality and try to progress at the tournament.
"We are having fun off the court, but as soon as I start preparing for my matches my focus will be on the tennis. In fact, I would recommend this kind of preparation to my opponents, especially to go on the more
difficult slope.”
