Novak Djokovic Recalls ‘Ugly Moments’ with Old Foes Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal: “It Was a Hollywood Script”

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer‘s fierce rivalry is well documented. But at present, the rivalry has taken a backseat because Federer and Nadal have already called time on their respective careers.

Djokovic, instead, has forged rivalries with the two youngsters, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Although he is still chasing Grand Slam glories, he admitted following Nadal’s retirement at the 2024 Davis Cup that when his old foes left the sport, “a part of me left with them, a big part of me.“

Yes, they had immense respect for each other, but Djokovic also used to feel “coldness and distance” from Federer and Nadal when he started challenging their dominance.

It was a Hollywood script. Roger and Rafa played almost every final in big tournaments. There was no room for the third guy. Nobody wanted to see this Eastern European Serbian guy come in who said he wanted to be No. 1 and thought he could be the greatest.

Novak Djokovic said during the Fanatics Fest in New York

Djokovic played his career’s first Grand Slam final at the 2007 US Open. He lost the match to Federer, but the next year, he clinched the Australian Open by beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. His next Major did not come before the 2011 season.

Djokovic, in fact, would have completed the Calendar Grand Slam in 2011 had he won the French Open (he lost to eventual champion Nadal in the semifinals). Right now, Nole has surpassed both of them in the Grand Slam titles tally.

I had to fight against those windmills my entire career, with the media and everyone. All of this strengthened me even more. I always respected my greatest rivals, but we had some ugly moments. But it’s normal. When you are fighting for history, what else can you expect?

Novak Djokovic added

The Big 3 have won a combined 66 Grand Slam titles. Federer was the first from this trio to hang up his racket (2022 Laver Cup).

Novak Djokovic recalls childhood hardships during the Balkan wars

Novak Djokovic sat for an interview on CBS Mornings to promote his Amazon Prime documentary, Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in Winter, during which he recalled his childhood.

Djokovic comes from a family of skiers and started playing tennis at the age of four, even though no one in his family had touched a racket before. People close to him say tennis is a safe space for him where he shows all his emotions.

He said he connects tennis to his childhood, which was impacted by the Balkan wars, and that he really wanted to repay his parents for their hardships and his two younger brothers, who also wanted to play tennis but circumstances were such that they didn’t get the support that Djokovic received at that time.

But that’s the kind of a time that they (his parents) had to make a choice and so I made an oath to myself that I’m going to repay my parents and my brothers that they have the best life possible.

Djokovic was last seen in action in the semifinals of this Wimbledon. After defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals that lasted over five hours, Djokovic succumbed to a straight-set defeat at the hands of eventual champion Jannik Sinner in the semifinals.

Djokovic has played one final this year. It was at the Australian Open, where, after his five-set win over Sinner, he lost the title to Carlos Alcaraz. Then at the French Open, he failed to capitalize on his two-set lead in the third round against Joao Fonseca and ended up crashing out of the tournament.

Also read: Italian Tennis Icon Calls Jannik Sinner One of the ‘Best Servers in History’ After Wimbledon Title Defense