Novak Djokovic admits to being forced to become the ‘bad guy’ as Fedal rivalry left him no room

Novak Djokovic open about being a villain during the famous Fedal era.

Novak Djokovic admits to being forced to become the ‘bad guy’ as Fedal rivalry left him no room

Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal (Via Front Office Sports, The economic times)

In the world of tennis, many rivalries have brewed over the decades. Players and fans are excited to play their rival, and it creates an atmosphere of excitement and nervousness. The rivalry between Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic has been in the spotlight over the years and continues to do so.

The three players have been known as the big three of tennis. Novak Djokovic recently admitted in an interview that he was forced to be the bad guy as there was no room for him in the brewing Federer- Nadal (Fedal) rivalry.“The rivalry with Nadal & Federer. I kind of put myself in the mix. In a way, for many years, I felt like there was no room for three. So I had to deal with that. But it’s okay. At the end of the day, I accepted that role I have as maybe the ‘bad guy of tennis,” said Djokovic in an interview with ESPN.

https://youtu.be/LPlrHvT0HP8?si=9CYZbCYkbJeiAlsW

The dominance of Fedal left no room for other players to rise to the top, but the Serbian had to become the ‘villain’ and rise on his terms, beating the ongoing rivalry.

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Novak possessed a lot of skill and had no choice but to beat the greats of the sport. His reputation of being the ‘bad guy’ is more of the circumstance than of his character.

Related: Roger Federer opens up on his persistent knee problems that forced him to retire and continue to bother him

Novak Djokovic got in between Fedal rivarly and made it a 3-way battle

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The Big Three (Via Eurosports, VOI, Daily)

Fedal rivarly had been one of the most heated matches during the early 21st century. Both Nadal and Roger were leading the men’s ranking and setting a good groundwork to the future generation. Nadal, the king of clay court has more Grand Slam singles titles than Federer. Their H2H is 16:24 with Rafa winning by a good margin. They last played each other in the 2019 Wimbledon where Federer emerged victorious in 4 sets. Soon Novak Djokovic started rising monumentally and dethroned Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to be the world number 1. Djokovic currently has beaten both their records and is leading with 24 Grand Slam titles.

The 36-year-old is now preparing for his upcoming challenge to win the Davis Cup for his country. He joined the Serbian team to play against Spain in the first round of the tournament. The Serb has had a great year so far and wants to end it on a high by winning the prestigious Laver Cup and making his country even more proud.

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