Roger Federer has defended great rival Novak Djokovic and claimed that the divisive Serbian star has been ‘misunderstood’ by tennis fans. Despite surpassing both Federer and Rafael Nadal in terms of Grand Slam titles with his 24 wins, Djokovic has notably never received the affection from the public that was previously afforded to the Swiss maestro in particular.
And never was that more evident than their famous 2019 Wimbledon final, where the crowd overwhelmingly sided with Federer, although it was Djokovic who eventually prevailed in five sets.
The 37-year-old’s popularity also waned during the Covid vaccine saga ahead of the 2022 Australian Open, that eventually led to him being deported home just a day before the tournament began.
But ahead of the release of the Amazon Prime documentary Federer: Twelve Final Days documentary, the 42-year-old icon has claimed that many fans were unable to handle how Djokovic arrived on the scene and broke up his battle for supremacy with Nadal.
And he also implied that Djokovic’s intense personality has given many the wrong impression.
“I guess he was the party crasher of Rafa and Roger fans,” he said, via The Times. “There was a lot of Rafa and Roger love there, so when Novak came probably a lot of people said, ‘Look, we don’t need a third guy. We’re happy with Roger and Rafa.’
“The Federer fans at the beginning didn’t really like him because they just thought, ‘Roger’s a bit more easy, he does it with ease.’ Then Novak came in with his strong personality and that unbelievable grit of wanting to win at all costs.
“I think also Novak was triggered by the relationship with the fans. I think that deep focus maybe scared some people away. I think he’s been a little bit misunderstood.
“I look past the media and I see at the end the man he is. If I take away his game, who is he? What are his values? I know he cares very deeply about his family.”
And Federer also candidly admits that he underestimated the on-court prowess of the man who beat him in 27 of their 50 meetings. Indeed, such a statistic didn’t look likely after he sent Djokovic packing in their first ever head-to-head clash in Monaco in 2006.
“I played him in Monaco the very first time and I walked off the court and thought, ‘Yeah, he’s OK,’” Federer added. “Even though there was some hype around him, I wasn’t really fully convinced.
“I think I didn’t give Novak the respect he deserved because of his technical flaws. I felt like Novak had a very extreme forehand grip and his backhand for me wasn’t as fluid as it is nowadays.
“But then he ironed those things out super well and became an unbelievable monster of a player.”
Indeed, it isn’t just Federer’s haul of 20 Slam titles that Djokovic has since proceeded to shatter. He’s been ranked the world No.1 for a record total of 428 weeks, 118 longer than his former foe, and ended a calendar year as No.1 an unprecedented eight times.