5 controversial things Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have said about each other over the years
Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic form one of the most popular rivalries across all sports as they join Nadal to be a part of the Big Three of tennis. Additionally, with a record 10 and record eight Australian Open and Wimbledon titles respectively, the two tennis stars have a range of accolades to their name.
Djokovic first surpassed Federer's record for the most number of weeks spent as World No.1 and earlier this year, also crossed his record of being the oldest World No.1. Therefore, their rivalry goes hand-in-hand with their stature as the best tennis players in the world. However, owing to the same and the streak of competition underlying it, the two legends have often been involved in controversies stemming from certain statements that one of them made about the other.
With that said, here are a few controversial things Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have said about each other over the years.
#5 "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's journey has been plagued by a fair share of injuries, many of which have disrupted certain important matches for him and his opponents from time to time. However, not everyone has been very understanding of him in this regard.
One such incident happened at the 2006 Davis Cup when the Serb was making his way in the world of tennis while Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer had already made a mark for himself.
After the match between Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka, the 20-time Grand Slam champion claimed that the Serb resorts to tactics such as faking injuries to beat his opponent's momentum. This is because, Djokovic repeatedly called his trainer to cater to a hamstring injury and despite the same, won the five-set match.
Accusing Djokovic of feigning injury, Federer said (via Express UK):
"I don’t trust his injuries. I’m serious. I think he’s a joke, you know, when it comes to his injuries."
#4 "I know certainly Federer didn't like the way I was behaving at the beginning. I think it didn't sit with him well"
Novak Djokovic once spoke about being disliked by some of his contemporaries at the beginning of his career, including his fellow member of the Big Three and Swiss legend Roger Federer.
During a press conference at the 2024 Australian Open, the record champion at the event shared the challenges he encountered while competing against Federer and Nadal. He said (via The Tennis Letter):
"I know certainly Federer didn't like the way I was behaving at the beginning. I think it didn't sit with him well. I don't know about the others."
He added, "I guess I wasn't the favorite type of guy to some of the top guys because I was not afraid to say that I want to be the best player in the world. I was kind of - not kind of - I was confident, and I felt like I have the game to back it up."
#3 "Even though there was some hype around him, I wasn’t fully convinced. I think I didn’t give Novak the respect he deserved because of his technical flaws"
Earlier this year, Federer released his documentary 'Federer: Twelve Final Days' in which he acknowledged the lack of respect he had shown towards Djokovic during the initial years of the Serb's career and their rivalry.
The range of statements made by him about Djokovic did suggest his feelings towards the Serb. But in the documentary, the Swiss admitted to not giving him enough respect. He said (via Last Word on Sports):
"Even though there was some hype around him, I wasn’t fully convinced. I think I didn’t give Novak the respect he deserved because of his technical flaws. I felt like Novak had a very extreme forehand grip and his backhand for me wasn’t as fluid as it is nowadays."
However, touching upon the evolution of Djokovic's game and his accomplishments, he said:
"But then he ironed those things out super well and became an unbelievable monster of a player."
#2 "Alcaraz, Medvedev, Sinner, everybody near the top I get along with quite nicely. If I were to compare my relationship with them to the one I had with Federer and Nadal, the relationship with my younger fellow players is much better"
Earlier this year, Novak Djokovic shared that his relationship with the younger generation of players is much better than the one he had with his fellow members of the Big Three, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Speaking with the media during the 2024 Australian Open, Djokovic said (via Tennis Majors):
"I am really enjoying the rivalries I have with all those guys. Alcaraz, Medvedev, Sinner, everybody near the top I get along with quite nicely. If I were to compare my relationship with them to the one I had with Federer and Nadal, the relationship with my younger fellow players is much better, nicer. I enjoy it."
He added, "I don’t know, it’s just more open, the younger guys are more communicative. We just get along better, that’s it."
The Serbs' views were not well accepted by some tennis fans, who claimed that he has been trying to convey time and again that he is not friends with Nadal and Federer. They also stated this is largely because the Spaniard and Swiss challenged him a lot more than the next generation of tennis players does.
#1 "He's not a guy who's never given up before. it's disappointing. If Novak were up two sets to love I don't think he would have retired 4-0 down in the fourth"
Roger Federer once made a remark about Djokovic during the 2009 Australian Open that did not sit very well with the Serb's fans.
As the defending champion who won his maiden Grand Slam title the previous year, Djokovic was forced to retire in the fourth set during his quarterfinal match against Andy Roddick. This was largely due to the heat in Melbourne that took a toll on the Serb's body.
On the other hand, the Swiss who won his match against Juan Martin Del Potro was asked about Djokovic's retirement. He said (via ESPN):
"He's not a guy who's never given up before (referring to Djokovic's mid-match retirements against Rafael Nadal at the 2006 French Open quarterfinals and the 2007 Wimbledon semifinals), so that's kind of disappointing to see. He gave up against me in Monaco last year because of a sore throat. Those are kind of things you wonder about."
He added, "If Novak were up two sets to love I don't think he would have retired 4-0 down in the fourth."
In response to Federer's statements, Djokovic said that he has always retired from a match due to a valid reason and could not understand why someone had to criticize him for it.