“Not fit enough, just get out,” Roger Federer did not show any sympathy toward Novak Djokovic after his ‘injury’ withdrawal at the Australian Open 2009 being a set down
Novak Djokovic's habit of mid-match injury withdrawals had Roger Federer irked who blew some steam back in 2009.
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Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer
Roger Federer on hardcourts was a different breed in the mid-2000s. He won five straight US Open titles from 2004 to 2009. At the Australian Open, he won four of the seven events from 2004 to 2010. With wins at Wimbledon and consistent deep runs in French Open, it was indeed his period of dominance.
Federer played the sport at a certain standard. He brought grace and elegance to the sport and hardly someone saw him throwing a tantrum. He was an excellent leader of the Tour as he went unmoved from the top spot for 237 consecutive weeks (four and a half years). Federer’s dominance was getting challenged. Rafael Nadal had dethroned him as World No. 1 in August 2008.
A young 20-year-old Novak Djokovic had also announced himself by winning the 2008 Australian Open. While Nadal and Federer were still in a different league, the Serbian youngster did not make it into Federer’s good books immediately. Djokovic had forfeited matches due to injuries that often looked dubious. Given he threw in the towel when he was behind in the game made the allegations stronger against him. A similar incident happened in the 2009 Australian Open.
Up against Andy Roddick in the quarter-finals in his title defense, severe heat saw the young Nole cramping. He had to eventually forfeit the match with Roddick leading the match two sets to one three games into the fourth set. Following Djokovic’s withdrawal, Federer expressed his disappointment.
Ahead of his match against Roddick in the semi-finals, he said, “He’s not a guy who’s never given up before … it’s disappointing. I’ve only done it once in my career … Andy totally deserved to win that match. I’m almost in favor of saying, you know what, if you’re not fit enough, just get out of here.” The Swiss maestro went on to add, “If Novak were up two sets to love I don’t think he would have retired 4-0 down in the fourth. Thanks to Andy that he retired in the end. Andy pushed him to the limits. Hats off to Andy.”
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Novak Djokovic had hit back at Roger Federer’s claims of a fake injury
While there were previous incidents where Novak Djokovic‘s injury looked doubtful, the case at the 2009 Australian Open was different. The heat issues at the Australian Open are infamous for damaging the good campaigns of players.
The Serb was just another victim and he pleaded innocent when asked about the criticism he received from Roger Federer and others. “I did have some retirements but I always retired with a reason. I don’t see why anybody should [criticize me]. Whenever I retired, I retired because I felt I cannot go on,” said Djokovic simply ignoring the critics.
Over the years, the relationship between Djokovic and Federer remained a bit sour. Incidents are known where Djokovic’s family also got involved with the Swiss icon. However, they have now repaired their relationship and have a great amount of respect for each other some of which was on display at the 2022 Laver Cup at Federer’s retirement.
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)