‘He’s on adrenaline and he doesn’t know where I am or where Rafael is,’ Roger Federer takes a cheeky dig on Novak Djokovic
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Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer
Roger Federer has been the pioneer of men’s tennis for over two decades now alongwith Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Despite being at the end of his career, he underwent yet another knee surgery last month which has ruled him out for almost 4-6 months. The Swiss maestro is still on crutches and is recovering well.
In an interview with GQ Magazine, Federer has told that Novak Djokovic made a statement that the Big 3 are not going to stop after being tied at 20 majors each. When asked to reflect on it, Federer said that he must’ve meant good, but he clearly doesn’t know the physical state of both Rafa[Nadal] and himself.
“Well, look, he obviously was speaking for himself: he’s on adrenaline when he’s saying that and he doesn’t know where I am or where Rafael is,” Federer said. “But he means well, obviously. I think his year again has been phenomenal. And it’s going to be very interesting to see, for all three of us, how our careers continue.”
He added that it is astonishing how all 3 of them are tied at 20 majors. “I mean, it’s amazing, to be honest, that all three of us are at 20 Grand Slams. Wow. When I was coming up the record was 12 and “Pistol” [Pete Sampras] got to it, you know, and went up to 14. Then I passed him in 2009, making it 15. That was clearly a huge moment for me, tying with him in Paris and then breaking it when at Wimbledon.”
He continued: “But I think the others are in a different mindset to me at the moment. I think all of us would obviously like to win more and do more, because that’s what you need to be like at this level. Like you said, losing in the quarters of Wimbledon normally is not good enough, but, for me, you know, the road has been hard and long and so my perspective is a little bit different.”
‘You will just know when the time is right’: Federer on retirement
Federer is currently 40 and it is a given that sooner or later, he will look to hang his boots. But the Swiss maestro isn’t currently thinking of retirement and said that like any athlete, he’ll know when the time comes.
“Like any athlete, you will just know when the time is right. I am not going to be the one that’s just going to stick around because I want to stick around,” he said.
“I still want to play exhibitions down the road and have fun and go to markets in places I’ve never been before. The fans mean a lot to me, but I do not want to abuse my body. I still want to run around with my kids and ski… So I think you just know.”
Also read: WATCH: Roger Federer visits Paris Fashion week with wife Mirka
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Lakshya Chopra
(2596 Articles Published)