Roger Federer once condemned Novak Djokovic’s mysterious injuries as a “joke” to distract his opponent’s rhythm
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Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer
Novak Djokovic, the former world number one, has been having a lot of hurdles on the professional front since the beginning of 2022. His participation chances at the Grand Slam tournaments have been quite the topic of discussion since he has decided to remain unvaccinated and neither intends to take the vaccine.
Roger Federer, the former Swiss legend, was joined by his arch-rivals during the ultimate moments of his goodbye and shares a cordial relationship now. But the 20-time Grand Slam champion had a small altercation during the second tie match between Serbia’s Djokovic and Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka at the Davis Cup in 2006.
The Swiss maestro during an interview had criticized the 7-time Wimbledon champion’s on-court antics to distract players despite winning the 5-setter match. At that time, Djokovic was just 19 years of age and was making his way into the circuit whereas Federer had already claimed his dominance.
The 19-year-old Serbian had called his trainer multiple times, citing some hamstring issues. But Federer claimed that Djokovic was faking his injuries to disrupt Wawrinka’s momentum and rhythm in the match. He said “I don’t trust his injuries. I’m serious. I think he’s a joke, you know, when it comes to his injuries.“
Novak Djokovic has not been featured in the official poster of the 2023 Australian Open
Djokovic was deported from Australia at the start of the season and even failed to defend his title at the 2022 Australian Open. He was neither allowed to play for the North American swing because of his unvaccinated status. His participation chances at the 2023 Australian Open still remain uncertain as he isn’t featured in the official poster of the tournament.
With being inconsistent on the Tour, Novak Djokovic dropped his overall rankings and fell out of the Top 5 despite winning the title at Wimbledon. But since his comeback on the Tour after missing the US Open, he has claimed two consecutive ATP singles titles at the Tel Aviv Open followed by the title win at the Astana Open with a chance to better his overall rankings.
He will likely play at the Paris Masters and has also qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. But his coach Goran Ivanisevic suggested that the 9-time Australian Open champion might skip playing in Paris keeping in view the year-end championship where he makes his appearance for the 15th time.
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Prateek Pradhan
(601 Articles Published)