Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic are the two reasons Serbia is on the map of the tennis world. They have known each other since they were like four or five years old. Both the tennis stars have played together as kids in junior events and came up together in the professional circuit. But does Novak Djokovic get a place in Ana Ivanovic’s list of perfect tennis players?

Well, the answer is a big yes. Recently, the former world number one in women’s singles appeared in a video where she created a list of her perfect tennis players. While six out of the seven places were occupied by the WTA stars. Ivanovic left the last spot for her childhood friend. What was it?

Ana Ivanovic picks Serena Williams’ serve and strength/power

The 36-year-old former tennis player recently posted a video on her X (formerly Twitter) account. She was asked to choose the names of different players based on serve, strength/power, endurance, slice, drop shot, forehand, and backhand. While she picked the ‘Queen of the Court‘ for her serve and strength/power, it was Caroline Wozniacki whose endurance stood tall above all of them. According to Ana Ivanovic. Steffi Graf had the best slice and she feels Ons Jabeur got the best drop shot.

However, Iga Swiatek was picked for her forehand, although she added, “I like my forehand too.” But what about backhand? Surprise, Surprise..as the Serb switched things up to pick up her compatriot Novak Djokovic for his extraordinary backhands. She said, “Well, probably the best backhand in the world is Novak (Djokovic), so I’m going to go from women to men on that one.”

Ana Ivanovic is a big fan of Novak Djokovic. Last month she came to the ES Fancast and reflected on Djokovic’s performance in the first Grand Slam of the season. She also gave a prediction of what lies ahead of the Serbinator. “I can imagine that he’s going for Golden Slam, uh this year with Olympic year, he probably wants to try to go for grand slams and Olympic medal,” Ivanovic.

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Ivanovic thinks an Olympic medal is the only thing that’s currently missing from her friend’s humongous trophy cabinet. Talking about their friendship, let’s take a look back at some of the moments surrounding the two Serbian superstars in the past.

“It was a really touching moment” – Novak Djokovic on Ana Ivanovic’s retirement announcement

In 2008, both Djokovic and Ivanovic became the first Serbian to win Grand Slam singles titles in their respective divisions. Since then both of them have witnessed numerous successes in their careers. Ana Ivanovic took retirement in 2016 and here’s what Novak Djokovic had said when he heard that announcement.

“I was very emotional when I watched it, simply because I’ve known Ana since we were four years old. It was a really touching moment to see that happen. I can imagine how hard it was for her to make that step and decision, and just decide to stop playing tennis,” Djokovic.

Putting light more on their strong bond, Ivanovic once revealed her father and his uncle knew each other from school days. So, they used to play together in the sand during their childhood days. She said, “He is a joker, he always used to make me laugh and I must admit he also made me embarrassed a few times.”

However, Ana Ivanovic didn’t forget to tag Novak Djokovic as her favorite doubles partner. Have you seen them play together? If yes, please share your memorable moments from their careers.