Anthony Joshua and…Novak Djokovic?! Heavyweight champion adds tennis ace to famous friends.

ANTHONY JOSHUA has made plenty of new friends in 2017 but few as successful as Novak Djokovic.

Anthony Joshua and Novak Djokovic appear to have bumped into each other in Dubai

Joshua has made Dubai something of a second home since his rise to fame, holding a promotional training session on top of the 800-metre high Burj Khalifa earlier this year.

The Brit also regularly holidays there and this time his trip appears to have crossed over with Djokovic’s time in the Middle East.

Joshua posted a picture of the pair on Twitter with the caption “A real humble brother, all the best next year”.

Former world No 1 Djokovic was due to play in an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi this week before heading to Doha for the Qatar Open.

Novak Djokovic has been out since July with an elbow injury

However, the 30-year-old was forced to pull out of both tournaments with a recurrence of the elbow problem that saw him end his 2017 season in July.

“The situation with the elbow has not changed for better since yesterday,” Djokovic said this morning.

“I still feel the pain. Therefore, I will have to withdraw from ATP tournament in Doha, that has been voted the best 250 tournament in 2017.”

He added: “Only when I’m 100 per cent ready to play, I will be able to come back. I hope it will be soon.

“I want to thank everyone for patience and understanding.”

Joshua meanwhile is about to start training for his next fight, despite the fact his opponent remains unconfirmed.

The Brit is expected to take on WBO champion Joseph Parker in a fight that will unify three of the four major heavyweight belts.

But promoter Eddie Hearn has urged caution on the progress of negotiations with the Parker camp even after the news that a purse split had been agreed.