Novak Djokovic wins over LeBron James with his basketball skills

World No 1 tennis star Novak Djokovic has won an admirer of his basketball skills in American great LeBron James.

Djokovic, who has been organising an exhibition tennis tournament in the Balkan region while the professional season is suspended due to the coronavirus, posted a video of himself trying some basketball moves on social media.

The video, addressed to James, shows the 33-year-old Djokovic taking a few dribbles before knocking down a mid-range jumpshot.

"Am I ready for a 1:1 @KingJames?" asked Djokovic, who previously termed Kobe Bryant, the 18-time NBA All-Star who died in a helicopter crash in January, a great mentor and friend.

The NBA star with Los Angeles Lakers did not take long to respond.

"Ha! I'm going to say I think you are!! Beautiful follow-thru on that shot buddy!" James said in his reply on Twitter.

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Scoreline

UAE 2-1 Saudi Arabia

UAE Mabkhout 21’, Khalil 59’

Saudi Al Abed (pen) 20’

Man of the match Ahmed Khalil (UAE)

Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

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