"You will": Chris Evert guarantees that Novak Djokovic will be friends with rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal post tennis

Chris Evert responded to Novak Djokovic after he spoke about how challenging it is to be friends with his rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

The 24-times Grand Slam champion has been one of the key figures in men's tennis, engaging in a fierce rivalry with Federer and Nadal, the three dominant players on the tour over the past two decades.

According to Djokovic, it's not easy to maintain close friendships with his rivals while still actively competing, so he has kept a bit more distance from them. While the friendship between Federer and Nadal is more apparent to many fans, Djokovic has always maintained a somewhat more distant relationship with the multiple Grand Slam champions: "It's true that we can't be friends because with friends you talk about everything, the good, the bad, your secrets. With your rivals I don't think you feel very comfortable revealing all that. In the last 15 years I have seen more of Nadal and Federer than my parents," he said.

"They have been a very important part of my life and my career. I have incredible respect for them and for the rivalry we've had for so long. It's been a long journey together and when we hang up our racquets we'll look at it in a more relaxed way," the Serb said.

The former world No. 1 and 18-times Grand Slam champion, Chris Evert, shared her opinion on Djokovic's words, stating that she believes Djokovic will eventually develop a closer relationship with his major rivals: “You will!!,” Chrissie Evert wrote with winking face emoji.

The American is one of the voices who can testify to building a friendship with her greatest rival. Between 1973 and 1988, Evert possibly created the most well-known rivalry in women's tennis by facing the legend Martina Navratilova 80 times, with 60 of those encounters in finals. Both were world No. 1 and boast 18 Grand Slam titles. Moreover, from November 1975 until August 1987, one of the two held the top spot in all but 23 weeks.

Despite their incredible rivalry, the tennis players have known each other for over 50 years and have maintained a friendship since their adolescence. Although their peak rivalry kept them apart, after retirement, they became great friends and even faced the challenging ordeal of living with cancer at the same time.