“I actually grew up with Djokovic”- Ivanovic

The Serbian friends have shared numerous memorable moments on their professional circuit. They made memories while representing their nation and winning laurels for the same and also even before they held their racquets. The Serbian duo Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic have always been great friends. Ivanovic’s husband Bastian Schweinsteiger and herself live in Chicago, USA. However, they also own a house near Djokovic’s house in the town of Ruma and Vrdnik village in Serbia.

Even before tennis came into her lives they were friends since then. She started playing tennis because of her idol, Monica Seles. “I actually grew up with Novak Djokovic, we know each other since before we played tennis,” said Ivanovic. He is a joker, he always used to make me laugh and I must admit he also made me embarrassed a few times.”

“We met each other when we were four years old. We didn’t even play tennis at the time,” Ivanovic said. “My father and his uncle knew each other from school days, so we were playing in the sand and it is just really, really funny to see him do so well now. It is really nice to catch up and obviously, he is my favourite doubles partner. (He was) always funny, always making jokes. You know boys. He was always running around the whole time. Ivanovic further added, “then we played some tournaments, some under-10s, under-12s back in Serbia, then we were travelling together, so it is nice to catch up and we also have some real memories.”

Weird emotions were gushing in Djokovic’s mind when Ana announced her retirement from tennis. “I was very emotional when I watched it, simply because I’ve known Ana since we were four years old,” he said. “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. 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.”