Novak Djokovic sends message to Daniil Medvedev on Russian's 29th birthday

Novak Djokovic penned a heartwarming wish for Daniil Medvedev on the Russian's 29th birthday. The Serb and the Russian, despite being ATP Tour rivals, share a close bond and have expressed their mutual admiration and respect on several occasions.

On Tuesday, February 11, Medvedev turned 29 and the 24-time Grand Slam champion took to Instagram to wish the Russian. The Serb, via Instagram Stories, shared an all-smiles polaroid photo of himself and Medvedev and captioned the post:

"Happy Birthday my friend 🙌 @medwed33"

When Daniil Medvedev was a rising star on the ATP Tour, Novak Djokovic was already at the peak of his powers and had established himself as one of the famed 'Big Three' alongside Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. After Medvedev became an elite player himself, he publicly revealed how generous the Serb has always been with him.

"When we first played I was probably 500th in the world. And he was super kind to me. Nothing special, but he treated me like a normal person. And he still does. Nothing changed: 24, 30, 12 Grand Slams? Nothing changes. And I think that’s something great about a person you can say," Daniil Medvedev said after losing to Novak Djokovic in the 2023 US Open final.

Interestingly, Medvedev's sole Grand Slam title came at the 2021 US Open following his win over the Serb in the final.

The Serb and the Russian have often shared lighthearted moments as well. For instance, at the 2025 Australian Open, Djokovic made a tongue-in-cheek reference to a hilarious opinion voiced by Medvedev.

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Daniil Medvedev made a comedic "money, girls, casino" comment at Australian Open 2025; Novak Djokovic later echoed Russian's sentiments

Novak Djokovic at the 2025 Australian Open (Source: Getty)

Medvedev narrowly survived a first-round scare at the 2025 Australian Open against ATP No. 418 Kasidit Samrej. During his post-match interview, the Russian suggested that Samrej's life will be full of pleasures if he manages to perform consistently the way he did against Medvedev in Melbourne.

"If he plays like this every match, life can be good - money, girls, casino or whatever. I wish he could play like this every match, but not if I'm facing him," Medvedev said.

Djokovic, after his own hard-fought second-round win over Jaime Faria at the year's first Grand Slam, brought up Medvedev's hilarious remark, saying:

"In the wise words of Mr. Daniil Medvedev, if the future generation plays this way, they’re gonna have everything: money, girls, casino. I just love that statement. I had to say it!"

The Serb has been out of action since retiring mid-match during his Australian Open semifinal clash against Alexander Zverev. Meanwhile, Medvedev's latest on-court outing was a disappointment, as he crashed out of the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam following a second-round loss to Mattia Bellucci.