“He still had a few technical errors,” Roger Federer explains why he did not rate Novak Djokovic as high as Rafael Nadal in Serbian’s initial days

Federer reckoned the lack of technology with Djokovic also prevented him.

“He still had a few technical errors,” Roger Federer explains why he did not rate Novak Djokovic as high as Rafael Nadal in Serbian’s initial days

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer (Via Imago)

Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer is busy these days promoting his new documentary film, Federer: Twelve Final Days. For the same purpose, the 42-year-old is also appearing in different interviews, and in one of those interviews, Federer was asked about his first impression of Novak Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion.

As Federer called Djokovic a party crasher for Federer and Nadal fans, the Swiss maestro was asked about this claim. He was asked the reason behind his claim and what did he think of the Serbian when he first burst onto the scene.

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Federer said that when he first played Djokovic in Monaco, there was not much hype and he also spotted a few technical errors. He also drew a comparison between Djokovic and Rafael Nadal and recalled how there was so much talk about the Spaniard while there was no such hype for the Serbian.

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When I first played against Novak in Monaco, I can't remember that there was a huge hype. It didn't say: Here comes Novak! It was not said that he could possibly rewrite the history books. It was different with Rafa. There was more power behind it.
Roger Federer said about his first impression of Novak Djokovic.

Roger Federer recalls seeing technical flaws in Novak Djokovic’s game

Roger Federer further talked about his first impressions of Novak Djokovic and claimed that he spotted a technical error in the Serbian’s game. Federer claimed that players with better technology used to dominate the tour during his time and Djokovic was not among them.

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic
Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic (via Imago)

However, the Swiss legend credited the 24-time Grand Slam champion for working on his flaws and lifting his game. Federer also claimed that the new racket technology also helped Djokovic and the players of the next generation as a whole.

When I played against Novak, he still had a few technical errors. That was still at the time when the best players were mostly the ones with the best technology. That wasn't necessarily him per se. That's why it was thought at the time that this could still be his doom. But then he managed to balance the whole thing. In addition, there was the new racket technology that helped the entire generation after me.
Roger Federer said about Novak Djokovic. (H/T: WeLT)

Notably, Djokovic took some time to get off the blocks as he won his first Grand Slam title five years after turning pro. The Serbian hit his peak only in 2011 when he won 10 titles in total. Djokovic never looked back after that period and now sits atop several tennis records.

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