"First time we played against each other, he kicked my a**": Djokovic full of admiration and respect for Murray

Novak Djokovic grew up with Andy Murray on the Tour and remembered Murray and their first match recently praising him for what he did in tennis.

Djokovic admires Murray greatly and he was very impressed with what the Brit was able to do this year. He praised his mental fortitude and his dedication to the sport due to way he competes at this stage of his career and with all of the injuries that he had. Speaking ahead of Dubai, Djokovic said this of Murray:

"It's not guaranteed that we're going to meet, but... Off the court we meet, but on the court we both need to win two matches. I mean, huge respect to him. Andy and I go back a long time, I think since we were 11 or 12 years old," he said. "That's the first time we met, first time we played against each other. He kicked my a** - sorry for my language - at that time. Ever since then we kind of followed each other on the journey to become professional players."

Djokovic continued:

"We didn't have much separation in terms of results, in terms of time. Maybe I broke through to the top five earlier than he did, but we were very close always. He's got so much talent, incredible grit, incredible mentality of a champion, of a fighter."

And more:

"What is happening now this year with his match points saved in literally every match he plays, the amount of hours he spent on the court since the beginning of the year, particularly in Australia, is just something you must admire and say 'chapeau' because of everything he has gone through with his hip."