5 players who are close friends with Novak Djokovic ft. Nick Kyrgios, Ana Ivanovic
Novak Djokovic has been dominating the world of tennis for over two decades and has a range of accolades that have etched his name in the history of sports. These include 24 Grand Slam titles, the joint-most in history, and an Olympic gold, which he won this year in Paris.
Djokovic shares the space of being included in the Big Four with his rivals, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, a phrase that translates to the collective dominance that these four tennis players have had over the international tennis arena for a long time.
Despite the intense rivalry and mutual respect, Djokovic has been vocal about the relationship he shares with the other three which is not exactly that of a friendship.
Nevertheless, the Serb does have a few names from the tennis fraternity whom he considers to be some of his good friends. Let's take a look at a few such names.
#5 Daniil Medvedev
Novak Djokovic has often been vocal about his admiration for his fellow tennis player, Daniil Medvedev. Additionally, the Serb got the better of Medvedev at the 2023 US Open to win his historic 24th Grand Slam title thereby adding to the list of a range of memorable on-court encounters with the Russian.
In addition to sharing candid moments with the Russian on social media, the Serb discussed what he likes about Medvedev and said:
"I don’t like people who pretend to be perfect on and off the court; perfection doesn’t exist. That’s why I love Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev. They are authentic, they admit their mistakes and they do everything to make up for it. We have a great friendship."
On the other hand, Medvedev too only has good things to say about Djokovic. Speaking about the Serb during a press conference at the 2024 Australian Open, he said (via India Today):
"I think that's what sometimes people don't know about Novak. He can be tough on the court, like I can be. He can be this and that. But me, since the first time I met him, I was 400 in the world. Now I'm 3 in the world, was 1 in the world. I feel like he treats me like before."
#4 Ana Ivanovic
Novak Djokovic goes way back with compatriot and fellow tennis player Ana Ivanovic. The two tennis players used to practice together as kids and have shared a range of memorable moments on the court.
Speaking in 2017, Djokovic said that he was emotional on watching Ivanovic's retirement, and spoke about their friendship.
"I was very emotional when I watched it, simply because I've known Ana since we were five years old," the Serb said, as quoted by Tennis.com. "We go back a long time. We're friends, colleagues. You know, we've shared many moments together on the tour—in the junior circuit in Serbia, internationally. We've grown up together and our families have known each other."
#3 Juan Martin Del Potro
Another tennis player with whom Djokovic shares great camaraderie is the one to whom he lost the bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Argentinian tennis player Juan Martin Del Potro has not only heaped praises on the Serb on different occasions but recently, also shared he dream the harbours which also happens to involve Djokovic.
Del Potro posted a video on X and said:
"I have a dream. I want to play my last match in Argentina and I want you to come," Del Potro said to Djokovic (translated from Spanish)."
Responding to the same, Djokovic said:
"Are you kidding me? Obviously I'm coming. For you, in Argentina, of course." (translated from Spanish)
The two tennis stars are now all set to play an exhibition match on 1st December, something that is being referred to as 'the Last Challenge.' Additionally, they were also caught engaging with each other for a fun practice session at the US Open this year where they joked about their biggest successes being tournaments where they defeated each other.
"My greatest success ever was beating Juan Martin del Potro in the final of US Open in 2018," the Serb said.
"My biggest success was beating you in Rio," Del Potro said.
"And in London! Delpo is my nemesis at the Olympic Games. He’s been my slayer," Djokovic further said.
#2 Carlos Alcaraz
Novak Djokovic recently opened up on how he shares a better bond with the current generation of tennis players than he did with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. This includes four-time Grand Slam champion, Carlos Alcaraz.
The Spanish tennis star defeated Djokovic to clinch his two consecutive Wimbledon titles and is known for challenging the Serb as intensely as the other members of the Big Four.
While the 22-year-old has often spoken about his respect for the 24-time Grand Slam champion, he recently shared that their on-court rivalry is accompanied by a great friendship off-court.
Speaking about the same, he said (via India Today):
"Every time that we step on the court, we play really high-level tennis. Every time that we face each other, it has been a really good and intense match."
He added, "We have a really good friendship off the court. We talk a lot in the lockers every time that we see each other around. Once we step on the court, there are no friends here on tour, but after that, after the court, I have a really good relationship with a lot of players, and one of them is Novak.”
#1 Nick Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios is known for vocalizing his thoughts without filters and is usually very open about his views on what's happening in the tennis fraternity and the people associated with the same.
In this regard, the Australian called out the Serb several times in the past and even referred to him as a "tool" and also shared a couple of differences with him. However, following the former World No.1's vaccination controversy at the 2022 Australian Open, the former World No.13 was one of the few players who spoke up in support of the Serb.
Additionally, the biggest match of the Australian, the 2022 Wimbledon final also involved Djokovic who won his 21st major by getting the better of Kyrgios. Nevertheless, the two tennis stars are great friends on and off the court.
Talking about his relationship with the Serb, Kyrgios said (via Tennis World USA):
"The fact that I played a Slam final with Novak at Wimbledon is crazy, because we're so different that now we're like friends and it's amazing and I get to hit with him and help him, it's pretty cool. Yeah, it's crazy. I never thought that I'd be really good friends with Novak Djokovic at all, and it's not just on the courts. It's like, we text each other, we send ridiculous memes and all this stuff on Instagram."
The Serb too has often cracked jokes with regard to Kyrgios's image in the tennis world and admired him for his serve, amongst several other moments that the two have shared over the years.