Roger Federer has given some insights into his perception of Novak Djokovic, labelling the Serbian ‘misunderstood’.
Tennis great Roger Federer has opened up about his relationship with Novak Djokovic, admitting he didn’t respect the Serbian early in his career.
When Djokovic earned his breakthrough grand slam victory at the 2008 Australian Open, Federer and Rafael Nadal already had a firm rivalry established and were largely beloved by tennis fans.
The Swiss legend also won his first four match-ups with Djokovic and Federer said he was slow to appreciate the youngster’s talents as he was making his way on Tour.
Federer’s comments come from a new Amazon Prime documentary, Federer: Twelve Final Days, which is being released this month.
“I played him in Monaco the very first time (in 2006) and I walked off the court and thought ‘yeah, he’s OK’,” Federer said of his 6-3 2-6 6-3 victory at the Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo.
While tennis lovers lapped up the rivalry between Federer and Nadal, the combative Djokovic took longer to win over some fans.
Federer has his take on the situation, suggesting some fans viewed Djokovic as a “party crasher”.
“I guess he was the party crasher of Rafa and Roger fans,” he said.
“There was a lot of Rafa-Roger love there, so when Novak came probably a lot of people said ‘look, we don’t need a third guy. We’re happy with Roger and Rafa’.
“The Federer fans at the beginning didn’t really like him because they just thought ‘Roger’s a bit more easy, he does it with ease’.
“Then Novak came in with his strong personality and that unbelievable grit of wanting to win at all costs.
“I think also Novak was triggered by the relationship with the fans. I think that deep focus maybe scared some people away.”