“Go man, raise children, go ski, do something else!” When Novak Djokovic’s father called Roger Federer irrelevant and asked him to retire
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Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic's father
Novak Djokovic is already one of the greatest athletes to have played tennis and has redefined consistency in the modern game. He is definitely the greatest returner the sport has ever seen and could realistically go down as the best tennis player of all time when he retires. But along with so many ‘pros’, Djokovic has a few cons too.
The Serbian maestro isn’t the most loved player amongst the fans and is often in the negative limelight for his on-court antics or off-court comments. To make things worse, Novak’s father, Srdjan Djokovic, is one of the most toxic people in the tennis community and treats his son like a god.
There is mutual hate amongst everyone, including Novak’s fans, for his father given the kind of statements he makes for Novak’s contemporaries. His father isn’t much fond of Roger Federer and has publicly called him out and demeaned him. A couple of years ago, Srdjan Djokovic asked Federer to retire from tennis as he had already turned 40.
“Imagine a 40-year-old man still plays tennis, when he can go home and do some more interesting things”: Novak Djokovic’s father
He accused Federer of trying to keep himself relevant because deep down he knows Djokovic and Nadal will break his records. He called Federer an ‘old man’ and asked him to do some more interesting things.
“[Djokovic and Federer] have developed a kind of respect over the years, but why do you think he still plays at 40? Imagine that, a 40-year-old man still plays tennis, when he can go home and do some more interesting things,” Papa Djokovic said.
He lashed Federer by saying that the Swiss cannot accept the fact that Rafa and Nole will be better than him. He told him to go and raise children and ski rather than play tennis at the age of 40.
“But since both Nadal and Novak are breathing down his neck, he simply cannot accept the fact that they will be better than him. Go, man, raise children, do something else, go ski, do something. Tennis is not my whole life, it is just my son’s current hobby. He is only a tennis player at the moment,” he said.
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Lakshya Chopra
(2595 Articles Published)