TOPSHOT – Serbia’s Novak Djokovic (R) holds the winner’s trophy and passes runner up Switzerland’s … [+]
Twenty-one months into retirement, Roger Federer is giving good copy away from the tennis court. It’s a little bit easier to be frank when not a contender, especially when the subject of the conversation is Novak Djokovic, someone who took his last proper crack at a major title away in the most dramatic of circumstances at Wimbledon. That was five years ago. It’s easier to talk now.
In September 2022, Federer bade farewell to tennis at the Laver Cup in London at the age of 41. Having just completed his only match of the year at the O2 with great rival Rafael Nadal as his doubles partner, there was hardly a dry eye in the house. Nadal and Federer were photographed in tears together as the end of one third of the Big Three Empire got a post-midnight feast of fandom. Djokovic was also a member of Team Europe that famous night and the respect Federer has for the 37-year-old has touched new heights since the Swiss left the scene.
The 20-time major champion has released his updated thoughts on the rivalries with the Serb and Spaniard in a new Amazon Prime documentary entitled Federer: Twelve Final Days which is released on June 20. Federer’s journey with Djokovic has not been straightforward. It’s lurched from almost dismissive contempt of the Serb’s early reputation for quitting matches to barking at the rowdy nature of his opponent’s family support before morphing into an existential crisis of how to beat him.
Despite these ups and downs, Federer has taken a step back to crystallize his thoughts in the revealing Amazon production. “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,” the 42-year-old admitted.
Djokovic was always seen as the gooseberry by fans and that’s no longer a prickly subject for the eight-time Wimbledon champion. When there’s no skin in the game to hold back, Federer can speak fast and loose. “I guess he was the party crasher of Rafa and Roger fans. There was a lot of Rafa-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.’ “
When the original king of Centre Court gave a speech to the graduate class of Dartmouth College earlier this week, he cited his most painful slam loss. Most Federer fans might point to the 2019 final against Djokovic where the Swiss had two match points on his serve and was superior in every single metric apart from the final scoreline. However, it was the 2008 SW19 final with Nadal that stoked more passion in terms of dealing with defeat. “”You accept it. Cry it out if you need to… then force a smile,” he told the leaders of tomorrow.
For all of the painful setbacks that Federer has experienced against Nadal (the 2009 Australian Open post-match interviews are almost unbearable to watch for his admirers) it was Djokovic who messed most with the Swiss’s mind. As the legend said, the 24-slam winner wanted “to win at all costs.”
In 2010, Djokovic saved two set points against his rival in the semi-finals of the U.S. Open by swinging from the hip. Incredibly, he repeated the trick a year later at the same stage in Flushing Meadows. The Swiss became tetchy in the press conference, dismissing the match-saving return as a “lucky shot” by his opponent. “There followed a string of excuses and justifications which not only were barely sustainable given the evidence but seriously disrespected the winner,” wrote The Guardian at the time.
TOPSHOT – Switzerland’s Roger Federer returns against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic during their men’s … [+]
Federer has “lost” six crucial match points to Djokovic in majors. To his credit, the retired six-time ATP Finals champion acknowledges that he had difficulty in cracking the code. “I just couldn’t quite figure him out and unlock him,” he says in the documentary. Their head-to-head record was pretty close (27-23 in favor of the Serb) but after beating a callow opponent in the 2007 U.S. Open, Federer struggled to topple him in the big ones thereafter. Three Wimbledon final defeats on his “own” patch are a testament to that.
As Wimbledon approaches, it is almost certain that none of the Big Three actually take part after Nadal withdrew aiming to be in shape for the clay of the Paris Olympics. Federer still holds one more title on the green green grass after Djokovic pulled out of the French Open semi-finals to undergo knee surgery.
The ghosts of the past might not appear for at least 12 months on Federer’s favorite court at least.