Novak Djokovic has shared the positive message he told Aleksandar Kovacevic at the net after their match at Indian Wells.
Djokovic defeated Kovacevic 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 in the round of 32, setting up a round of 16 meeting with Jack Draper.
British number one Draper is the defending champion at Indian Wells, while Djokovic is seeking a record sixth title.
The ATP veteran will now turn his focus to their match, but he was first tasked with discussing the level of Kovacevic and indeed his Serbian background.
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Novak Djokovic praised Aleksandar Kovacevic’s serve after their Indian Wells match
Djokovic said of the American: “Yeah, there’s not many of us. It’s nice to see Aleks, who I really like as a person, who I get along with very well, that he has the Serbian background, his entire family.
“Yeah, we get to practice a lot. We get along very well on the tour. We haven’t faced each other, I think maybe only once in clay before today’s match.
“I watched a little bit of the highlights of his matches in this tournament, and I thought he just felt the ball very well. I mean, he was striking the ball great.
“Today, I don’t recall really facing someone who is not that tall… I mean, he has a decent height but not really tall… to be able to serve, you know, that well and hit his spots in the box. It just was really incredible.
“I mean, I wasn’t maybe feeling my rhythm on that return very well today, but he was just making my life very difficult, returning the serve.
“He was just acing me all over, getting a lot of free points. Couldn’t really serve at all. That’s what I told him at the net. He had a tremendous serving display today. He’s on the right path.
“I always, you know, like the way he plays. One-handed backhand, it’s so rare nowadays. He’s very talented. He’s a great ball-striking player.
“But I think he was lacking in the last few years consistency. He was making a lot of unforced errors. I think he has brought that down, and, I mean, I know his coach, he’s worked with [Frances] Tiafoe and a few other players.
“Seems like whatever they are doing is working. You know, he’s serving great and he’s playing really well. He has had some great wins this week, and today was really anybody’s game until the last couple of points.
“I mean, that last game of the third where he missed some first serves, gave me looks on the second, and I used it. That’s pretty much it. Yeah, it was very unpredictable who was going to win until the end.”
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Aleksandar Kovacevic hits 16 aces in loss to Novak Djokovic
It was indeed Djokovic who triumphed in California after two hours and two minutes, extending his head-to-head record over his ATP rival to 2-0.
He’ll be hoping to do the exact same against Draper, with whom he currently holds a 1-0 record, winning their 2021 Wimbledon tie.
| Novak Djokovic | Aleksandar Kovacevic | |
| 285 | Serve rating | 272 |
| 6 | Aces | 16 |
| 4 | Double faults | 1 |
| 44/70 (63%) | First serve | 54/96 (56%) |
| 33/44 (75%) | 1st serve points won | 42/54 (78%) |
| 16/26 (62%) | 2nd serve points won | 20/42 (48%) |
| 2/4 (50%) | Break points saved | 4/6 (67%) |
| 13 | Service games played | 14 |
The Briton has knocked out Roberto Bautista Agut and Francisco Cerundolo so far, while Kovacevic had picked up impressive wins over Hubert Hurkacz and Corentin Moutet before his exit.
He certainly produced a top serving display against Djokovic, firing down 16 aces with just one double fault, but it still wasn’t enough to pull off a shock win.
Still, he has definitely earned the respect of the ATP legend, who shared an image of the pair embracing at the net on X with the message: “Aleks, excellent match today, bro! Great fight. Keep it up, good luck in the rest!”
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