Novak Djokovic is a peerless champion whose return is 'inhuman', says his sparring partner

For more than a decade, Novak Djokovic has terrorized the biggest servers in tennis with his pinpoint and sometimes logic-defying return. Djokovic reaching a serve that is seemingly unreachable, and still producing an extremely effective return, has become a common sight over the last few years.

This has been reinforced by Novak Djokovic's sparring partner Thibault Venturino, who called the Serb's return of serve "inhuman" and added that the World No. 1 has no equal.

'Novak Djokovic has no weakness': Thibault Venturino

Speaking on a podcast with a French sports reporter, Thibault Venturino shared his experiences of sparring with some of the best tennis players in the world. Venturino has hit with the likes of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at the French Open, and also at the Paris Masters.

While Venturino spoke highly of every member of the 'Big 3', he seemed especially impressed by the skills of the best tennis player in the world - Novak Djokovic.

Novak Djokovic's sparring partner talks highly of the Serb's game

The former World No. 847 in doubles was full of praise for Djokovic, whose tennis abilities he thinks are unmatched by any player on tour.

"Novak Djokovic is a champion without an equal," Thibault Venturino said.

The thing about Novak Djokovic's game that struck Venturino most vividly was his return. The Frenchman also said that he found no weaknesses in Djokovic's game during the entire time he hit with the 17-time Slam champion.

"He (Djokovic) has no weakness. His quality of return is inhuman," Venturino added.

Venturino also reminisced about the time the Serbian Terminator laid down a particularly difficult challenge before him.

Djokovic asked Venturino to serve wherever he wanted, and to try his best to hit an ace. The Frenchman did what he was asked and desperately tried to ace the Serbian Wall, but Djokovic returned every one of Venturino's serves.

"Novak Djokovic once asked me to send 1st serves where I wanted to. It should have been aces, but he returned them all."

Thibault Venturino isn't the only one who has been left gobsmacked by Novak Djokovic's return of serve. For years now Novak Djokovic's returning skills have provided enormous viewing pleasure to the spectators, while at the same being a huge pain in the backside for his opponents.

Novak Djokovic's splendid return of serve

Most in the tennis world didn't think it was possible to ever have another returner quite as brilliant as Andre Agassi. But that was only until a year after Agassi's retirement, as the sport's attention turned to the budding Serb Novak Djokovic in 2007.

Once Djokovic found a way to solve his fitness issues in 2011, it didn't take long for him to firmly establish himself as the best returner in history.

Novak Djokovic's return of serve

Novak Djokovic's incredible service return cannot be countered even by his biggest adversaries. Even the Serb's most biased critics are forced to tip their hats when Djokovic belts a screaming backhand return winner off a seemingly solid serve.

Novak Djokovic's entire game is built around his stellar return of serve. It is the biggest weapon that has helped the World No. 1 gain a decisive edge over his rivals.

Twice in his career Novak Djokovic has saved match points on Roger Federer's serve and broken back from a 40-15 situation on his way to a Grand Slam title. Federer's serve is considered to be one of the best in history, and has proven to be his biggest get-out-of-jail card. But Novak Djokovic's return has consistently managed to get the better of Federer's serve on the big points.

In their semi-final meeting at the 2011 US Open, facing match point, Novak Djokovic launched a fearless forehand return off Federer's first serve which kissed the left sideline on the far-court for a clean winner. Djokovic would save another match point before winning the next three games to complete a historic comeback win over Roger Federer, and book his place in the final.

Novak Djokovic's return has often left Federer punch-drunk, and the rest of the world in awe. It's no wonder even his sparring partners struggle to find words to describe the shot.