“None of us can be real mates” When Novak Djokovic openly denied having any friendship with the Big-4
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Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic
21-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic is one of the greatest players and the Serb remains one of the members of the famed Big-4 which has now turned into Big-3 ever since Andy Murray‘s injury struggles that saw him miss a lot of action on the Tour and the remaining trio cut away to form a collective of their own.
Nevertheless, Murray and Djokovic were the only players to match and join Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and form the quartet that went on to dominate the next decade. The four players formed rivalries of their own and often met each other in the business ends of the matches and won the title at each other’s expense. While the rivalry was quite famed, the off-court friendship of the quartet always remained a fascination for the tennis fans.
“When we’ve all retired, I look forward to sitting down over a beer with them all”: Novak Djokovic
While Federer and Nadal over the years have been quite diplomatic in their press conferences, Djokovic and Murray have remained candid and honest through and through. Djokovic during one such press talk gave insights into the off-court relationship of the Big-4 and much to the disappointment of the fans, he revealed that the four players could never be friends as such.
“I have only nice words to say about Rafa. He always wants to improve and you never see him disrespect another player. And Roger, well, his results say everything. With 16 Grand Slam titles, he’s the most successful player ever. He may lose a little more often, but everything can change in the next month if he wins in Paris and at Wimbledon. But it’s good for the sport to see myself and Murray challenging them.
“I think Roger, Rafa, Andy and myself have a very civil relationship, with a great respect for one another. Sometimes, I have dinner with Andy or Rafa; but the reality is none of us can be real mates while we are fighting for history. But one day, when we’ve all retired, I look forward to sitting down over a beer with them all, and their families, and remember what we went through,” said Djokovic back in 2011.
A decade and more since then, Djokovic would be happy to see the change in the relationship between the Big-4 who continue to remain active players on the Tour and have often shown glimpses of their camaraderie on multiple occasions.
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)