Having turned pro in 2021, Aleksandar Kovacevic has had just one meeting with Novak Djokovic in a professional match. It came in 2023 when they met in the 1st round of the Roland Garros. The tennis aficionados would know that Djokovic went on to win his 3rd French Open title that year. And it started with a gritty challenge from 24-year-old Kovacevic. On the surface, there isn’t much that ties the Serbian Champion with the American. But there is more to the story, and it is tied to their Serbian roots.

A Serbian connection that inspired Aleksandar Kovasevic

Aleksandar Kovacevic was born in New York and raised as an American who loves tennis way more than he can accept pickleball as a professional sport. But Kovacevic’s Serbian connection comes through his father, Milan, who was born in Belgrade. Maybe that’s why Kovacevic gravitated towards Novak Djokovic since the first time they heard about him. That and how impressive Djokovic was even as an 18-year-old.

Kovacevic comes from a household that has a table tennis background. And his parents were serious about his tennis journey. So, the New Yorker used to frequently go to the US Open matches as a kid. One such visit in 2005 would see him watch Djokovic battling it out with Gael Monfils, both 18-year-old budding youngsters at that time. Almost 2 decades later, Kovacevic is still in awe of the Great Serbian. “He was my idol growing up. He’s still my idol. He’s the best tennis player of all time,” Aleksandar said to RG.org in July 2025.

Talking about the meeting in 2023, Kovacevic regards it as a “dream come true” and definitely the best day of his career yet, playing on the center court of Philippe Chatrier. “It was a privilege for me and something I’m super grateful to have been able to do.” Ranked 76 in the World before the 2025 Wimbledon, Kovacevic has tried to pick up a lot from his idol. And he wishes he could follow Djokovic more closely. “I’d love to see all the things that he’s doing so I can kind of almost take some things to copy.”

And it’s not just him being inspired. Even his father, Milan, has been influenced by the greatness of the 7-time Wimbledon Champion. Idolizing Djokovic and seeing him as a legend and a Godly player, playing against him at the Roland Garros did help Kovacevic to see that the man on the other side of the net is also a human. Albeit a human with the most singles Majors.

But that was not the first time Kovacevic had met Djokovic face-to-face. In fact, it goes back almost two decades, when a young Kovacevic would meet the Serbian for the first time.

The Novak Djokovic link that goes back decades

Two years after the legendary encounter between Monfils and Djokovic in 2005, Aleksandar Kovacevic would have his dream meet, all thanks to his childhood coach, Gilad Bloom. Kovacevic was barely 9 at that time. “In 2007 I had the pleasure of meeting Novak Djokovic while he was training for the US Open,” Bloom had shared with Tennis Prose in 2023. “I took one of my young students Aleks Kovacevic who comes from Serbian descent to meet him.”

Novak Djokovic would hit some balls with Kovacevic and even met his mother and sister. Recalling the meeting, Bloom narrated, “Novak was extremely nice to him and they spoke Serbian.” And that was not the only time they got together for practice. Djokovic even has an open invitation for the youngster to join him in Belgrade for practice. Kovacevic hasn’t been able to take up Djokovic on the offer. But he did meet his idol in 2021 after a difficult point in his career.

Having experienced a heart-wrenching loss in the 2021 US Open qualifiers, Kovacevic would come across the Serb in the gym the very next day. “Novak told me he heard about my match and asked if I wanted to join his fitness session,” Kovacevic said to the ATPTour.com in May 2023. “I was shocked. He was chasing history that week and didn’t have to give me his time. It was an incredible experience.”

He got to see what made the tennis Great such an effective competitor, what made him special. “He gave me a lot of good tips that I still use to this day – fitness and nutrition stuff most of all,” said the young American to Tennis Majors in 2023. “Not revealing too much of his routines, but for me, it was very valuable information … Warming up before matches, Novak spends one hour before even hitting the ball, doing all the other stuff starting with mental preparation.”

Kovacevic would also get some kind words to carry along for the rest of his career as he tries to leave his mark in tennis.