"I had to battle the fact that he is a good buddy and one of the feared players in the history of our sport"

Former Wimbledon doubles champion Vasek Pospisil has revealed that it is always tough for him to play against Novak Djokovic since they are good friends.

The pair recently met at the Tel Aviv Open, with the former World No. 1 defeating the Canadian in straight sets, 7-6(5), 6-3.

While speaking on the Match Point Canada podcast, Pospisil said that he was playing at a "really high level" of late and felt he played well against Djokovic, one of the most "feared players in the history of our sport."

"The last couple of weeks, especially in Tel Aviv, I was playing at a really high level," he said. "Played a great match against Novak, where I thought I was quite competitive and it is always tough as he is a really good friend of mine and so I had to battle the fact that he is a good buddy and one of the feared players in the history of our sport."

The former top-30 player emphasized that going into the match against Djokovic, he had to believe that he could win.

"I had to turn all of that into going out there and believing that I could win, which I managed to do, which isn't always the case. I think it is also a testament to the fact that I have been playing better and working hard and I wanted to win that match," Pospisil said.

"I think the tennis showed it and he's super gracious and said some really nice things to me after the match and gave me lot of confidence as well," he added.

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"The nickname he was given at the beginning of his career, that of Djoker, suits him perfectly" - Canadian Open Director on Novak Djokovic

Diego Schwartzman of Team World and Novak Djokovic of Team Europe at the 2022 Laver Cup - Day Three

During a recent interaction with Journal de Quebec, former Canadian Open Director Eugene Lapierre opined that the nickname 'Djoker' suited Novak Djokovic to a tee.

"The nickname he was given at the beginning of his career, that of Djoker, suits him perfectly," he said

Lapierre added that Djokovic always tries to please people, recollecting how the Serb once asked him for a Segway on which he could drive around on.

"Novak Djokovic tries in every way to please people. He starts dancing with the ball boys on the pitch, sending hearts to the audience and many other gestures," Lapierre continued. "Once he asked me if we could get him a Segway, which he would use to go around the facility. We couldn't find one, but Nole was super understanding. He has always been kind to everyone, just like Rafa Nadal."