One of Novak Djokovic’s rivals has revealed that they went for dinner when the 24-time Grand Slam champion first uprooted his life in Serbia to move to Greece. The world No. 3 hails from Belgrade and looked set to settle down in his hometown once his career was over. But Djokovic, his wife Jelena, and their two children moved to Athens last year amid a government fallout in Serbia.

There were initial rumblings that Djokovic hoped to relocate to Greece last summer through the Golden Visa programme, which grants residence to non-EU citizens who make investments in the country. The Serbian superstar downplayed a potential move during Wimbledon last year, saying: “Obviously, there’s a lot of speculation, but no, at the moment. But who knows what could happen in the future. Yeah, it could happen.”

Ensure our latest sport headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as a Preferred Source in your Google search settings.

But by September, it emerged that Djokovic and his family had settled in Athens. And Greek tennis ace Stefanos Tsitsipas has now revealed that he went for dinner with the Olympic champion within a few weeks of his big move.

Speaking on the What’s the Call podcast, the two-time Grand Slam finalist said: “So I had a dinner with Novak a few months ago in my hometown, Vouliagmeni. That was the first few weeks when he moved to Greece, so I obviously invited him. We had a nice little dinner for two hours.

“And obviously, I was very curious to learn from him. I’m really curious to learn from his career, from his lessons that he’s learned throughout his career, his medical stuff, all these things that he does. And there was a lot of insightful stuff that I got out of it. Very interesting guy to talk to on a deep level. And I really had a lot of fun spending time with him.”

Djokovic initially moved to Athens amid claims that he had been targeted by the Serbian government after supporting student-led protests against Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic, which took place at the end of 2024 following the collapse of a railway station in Novi Sad.

At the time, the recent Aussie Open runner-up wrote a powerful message of support to the protesters on social media. “As someone who deeply believes in the power of youth and their desire for a better future, I believe it’s important that their voices are heard. Serbia has enormous potential, and its educated youth is its greatest strength. What we all need is understanding and respect. With you, Novak,” it read.

He has reiterated his support multiple times since then. Although Djokovic has not explicitly spoken out against Vucic or the Serbian government, his public support for the protestors has created tensions.