The country of Serbia has been very prominent in the sports world over the last decade, with tennis superstar Novak Djokovic and Denver Nuggets standout Nikola Jokic dominating their respective sports. The two Serbian stars have become good friends over the years and often connect in the offseason or when Djokovic is in the United States during the spring and fall of the ATP Tour.

The two aren't together at the moment, as Djokovic is chasing his 25th Grand Slam title at the French Open. However, he is still there to stick up for Jokic whenever he gets the chance. On his day off before his fourth round match, Djokovic shot down a popular narrative around Jokic, via HoopsHype.

“Basketball is the biggest sport we have in our country,” Djokovic said. “Jokic is phenomenal. Honestly, what he does, how he does it. And also, the way he goes about his private life. People thought at the beginning that he was fake, that he was like not interested in anything except his family and his horses. But that’s really everything he is interested in, truthfully, honestly. I really respect that.”

Djokovic continued to stick up for his friend, addressing the always-controversial topic of whether Jokic should play for Team Serbia in the offseason after playing the long, grueling NBA season.

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“The NBA season takes a lot out of him,” Djokovic admitted. “Every year, we have either it’s a European championship, or a World Championship, or the Olympic Games… And there is always a question mark ‘Will he play? Is he gonna play for his national team?’ There is always a debate. People are very passionate about the best players playing for our national team. It’s a lot of responsibility for him. I get him, I understand that. But he has done so much for our country and then for basketball as a whole. It’s amazing.”

Still, Jokic was able to lead Serbia into the Olympics last season and win a Bronze Medal, nearly knocking off the United States in the semifinals. He has done great things for Serbian basketball despite playing night after night with heavy minute loads for the Nuggets during the season.

Djokovic is currently playing his fourth round match against Cam Norrie as he chases another grand slam, which would extend his all-time record.