"I never beat Federer, but for me, Djokovic was the one who made me feel most uncomfortable" - David Ferrer
Former World No. 3 David Ferrer recently admitted that he found Novak Djokovic to be his toughest opponent, even though he has a worse head-to-head record against Roger Federer.
Ferrer officially retired from the sport in 2019, with 27 titles to his name. In an interview with El Mundo, he revealed that although he never defeated Federer in his career, he found Djokovic to be the hardest player to face on the court.
The 40-year-old explained that the Serb made him the most uncomfortable during matches.
"This depends on the characteristics of each player. I never beat Federer, but for me the feeling was that when Djokovic was good he was the one who made me feel most uncomfortable, because he couldn't hurt him with any of my punches," Ferrer said.
"And from the way I played, I had the feeling that when he was fine he couldn't even beat him in one game," he added.
"This is like any other tournament" - David Ferrer on Davis Cup player participation
David Ferrer now holds the role of Davis Cup tournament director. Speaking about the presence or absence of certain players at this year's event, the Spaniard stated that it was like any other tournament and that there could be many reasons why a player was unavailable.
"This is like any other tournament. You think that certain players are going to come and then if they get injured or something else happens, it is something that we cannot control," he expressed.
Ferrer also touched upon Carlos Alcaraz's absence and the impact it had on Spain's title chances.
"It has been a pity about Carlos Alcaraz, because he was already in Valencia as number 1, we played in Spain, and it is a significant drop for the team and for the competition, but in the end, I am happy with the players who have come and the teams out there. In this sense, Davis is the best competition," he said.
Without Rafael Nadal and Alcaraz, six-time champions Spain fell to Croatia in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup Finals. Marin Cilic knocked out the Spaniards by defeating Pablo Carreno Busta 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (5).
Although Croatia had lost all three of their previous Davis Cup encounters with Spain, the absence of Nadal and Alcaraz gave them the edge in this year's contest.