Tennis legend Novak Djokovic has responded to a historic clip of commentators mocking him as a teenager for his slim build. The Serb has won a men's record 24 Grand Slam singles titles and has amassed an all-time record 428 weeks as world number one.

Djokovic made his grand slam debut at the 2005 Australian Open - losing to eventual winner Marat Safin in the first round. The Belgrade-born star won his maiden slam match at Roland Garros a few months later - beating Robby Ginepri.

The then 18-year-old Djokovic went on to face 2004 runner-up Guillermo Coria in round two. Now, footage has resurfaced of some of the pre-match build-up on American TV from that encounter - with Djokovic shown the footage during a live Q&A at the World Sports Summit in Dubai on Monday.

"Today, Novak Djokovic is taking the court, and what do we know about this guy," the commentator asked his colleague with an ironic smile.

"Not a lot," she replied before laughing. "This kid is the youngest in the draw, he just turned 18 years old. He is tall, thin and very hungry. When you look at him, you would say that he is hungry both literally and figuratively."

After watching the video, Djokovic said with a smile: "She was right, I'm still hungry."

The former world No.1 is in Dubai as part of his preparations for the 2026 tennis season. Djokovic will begin his year at the Adelaide International, which starts on January 12, before the Australian Open on January 19.

The 38-year-old attended Sunday's Globe Soccer Awards, where he was handed the Globe Sportsman of the Year award by football legend Cristiano Ronaldo. He said: "It's a great surprise. To be here is a privilege, and receiving an award from another sporting legend is a dream come true.

"I'm a big fan of football. I came here to celebrate the incredible year that everyone is having and I was caught off-guard, in a positive way. I couldn't be happier."

Praising the Serb, Ronaldo said: "For me, he's an example. When you have people as examples, the awards come by themselves. His longevity, we have a similar story.

"So I think he deserves it because he's a great example for this generation, the old generation, the generation that's going to come. He deserves it."