"Watch out, Rory McIlroy"- Novak Djokovic takes a day off golfing, jokingly issues a challenge to the former World no. 1 golfer

Novak Djokovic was seen at the golf course trying to relax his mind after the recently concluded Monte-Carlo Masters. Djokovic jokingly issued a warning to Rory McIlroy, who is a former world no.1 in Golf.

Djokovic is having a rare season, where almost four months in, the 24-time Grand Slam champion is yet to win a title this season. The last tournament where the Serb played was at the Monte-Carlo Masters. Even though he was the top seed, Djokovic lost to Norwegian Casper Ruud in the semi-finals in a tough three-set battle.

This is not the first time the Serb has been seen engaging with other sports in between the tennis events this season. After his shock loss at the hands of Luca Nardi at the BNP Paribas Open, Djokovic decided to skip the Miami Open and also went on the NBA courts to spend some time off the tennis court.

This time, he was spotted at a golf course where he stated he was enjoying his self-proclaimed "Golf Day". Posting on his Instagram, the Serb issued a light-hearted warning to former World No. 1 golfer, Rory McIlroy.

"Golf day. Watch out @rorymcilroy" posted Djokovic on his Instagram.

"So I follow him and actually I follow everyone"- Djokovic talks about his friendship of 10 years with Rory McIlroy.

2023 Ryder Cup - All-Star Match

While talking to the press during the Ryder Cup in 2023, Djokovic confessed that he and Rory McIlroy shared a deep friendship that encompassed more than 10 years. The star Irish golfer was friends with the Serb since the former was engaged to former World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki. Djokovic candidly expressed that he has kept a close track of McIlroy's conquests on the golf tour. He said, as quoted by Associated Press:

"I've been friends with Rory McIlroy for more than 10 years, since when he was engaged to the tennis player Caroline Wozniacki. So I follow him and actually I follow everyone. But he’s already a friend and I’m rooting for him particularly, and obviously Europe.” said Djokovic.

Back in 2018, when Djokovic won the Wimbledon title after a gap of 3 years, McIlroy publicly spoke about how the Serb's demeanor after winning the event inspired him to get back to winning ways.

“Seeing Novak winning Wimbledon, he hadn’t won it in a while, and the emotion he showed after that was really cool. Golfers and tennis players are similar in the sense that they’re both trying to win four tournaments and it is a huge deal." said McIlroy. (via The Guardian)

Novak Djokovic is slated to play at the Madrid Open which is scheduled to begin on 22nd April. He is a three-time champion at the Madrid Open, with his last title coming in 2019 where the Serb defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.