Djokovic tries ball hockey for first time in Toronto

On Sunday, Toronto's annual exhibition ball hockey game saw athletes from two very different sports combine for a little competitive fun.

NHL players Connor McDavid, Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza joined ATP stars Denis Kudla, John Millman, Andrey Kuznetsov and Canadian teens Felix Auger-Aliassime, Benjamin Sigouin and Denis Shapovalov (who upset Nick Kyrgios on Tuesday). The tennis presence got a boost from world No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

Kudla has a passion for hockey (he cheers for the Washington Capitals), explaining his new love for the sport to Baseline earlier his season.

"I love hockey right now. The last couple of years I’ve fallen in love with it. It’s an incredible sport," the Austrian-born American said. "I think tennis and hockey are the two toughest sports in my opinion. I really look up to Alexander Ovechkin."

Djokovic was playing hockey for the first time, but took the challenge quickly, with the game finishing in a tie.

“It was a unique opportunity to share an experience with [NHL players] in their environment," Djokovic said. "At the same time, it was not an ice rink, so it allowed me and the other tennis players to move around freely. It was the first time that I played hockey, ice rink or not.”

The Serb would probably agree that putting tennis players on ice is the worst possible pre-tournament practice.

Djokovic will be playing his first match since falling in the third round of Wimbledon when he takes on Gilles Muller on Wednesday.