Roger Federer acknowledged that he and his fans might not have given Novak Djokovic the respect he deserved early in his career. Federer believes this lack of respect could have fueled Djokovic, who has since become a record 24-time Grand Slam champion.
During a speech at Dartmouth College, Federer admitted that he didn’t like Djokovic very much when they first met at the Monte Carlo Masters in 2006. At that time, Federer was the top player in the world, but Djokovic, then an emerging talent, pushed Federer to a three-set match, which Federer eventually won 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.
Despite not winning that match, Djokovic’s performance indicated his potential. This encounter marked the beginning of a significant rivalry, with many of their subsequent clashes occurring in the later rounds of Grand Slam and Masters events. However, throughout their matches, the crowd consistently favored Federer over Djokovic.
“I played him in Monaco the very first time and I walked off the court and thought, ‘Yeah, he’s OK,'” Federer said during his speech at the Dartmouth College last weekend.
“Even though there was some hype around him, I wasn’t really 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. But then he ironed those things out super well and became an unbelievable monster of a player.”
Federer addresses his statement on Djokovic
After losing to Federer in their opening three matches, Djokovic found a winning formula against the Swiss and later ended with a 27-23 head-to-head versus the former 20-time Grand Slam champion. In the latter years of rivalry, Djokovic was dominating their head-to-head now the 37-year-old Serb won six of their seven meetings played between 2015 and 2020. Also, Djokovic had one run between 2011 and 2012 that saw him beat Federer in six of their seven matches.
Addressing his Djokovic statement, Federer said the Serb having the entire stadium against him in their matches could have been used as a fuel. And exactly that happened and Djokovic ended up with a positive head-to-head versus the Swiss tennis legend.
“Take that as motivation when the crowd is against you. I had that not very often but when I was younger, they would cheer for [Andre] Agassi – they didn’t want the new guy to win,” Federer said on BBC Breakfast.
“That can fuel you in a way. You can take it from anywhere and Novak has been a master of that.”
What Djokovic said about Federer and the respect?
During last year’s US Open, Djokovic seemingly mocked Ben Shelton by imitating the American’s celebration after he was previously left feeling that the 21-year-old was acting disrespectful. When asked about it at this year’s Australian Open, Djokovic explained that he knew as a youngster that Federer and some other top players didn’t like his personality. However, the Serb also underlined that he “never lacked respect” other than just being confident on the court.
“That’s a good question. I mean, I know certainly Federer didn’t like the way I was behaving at the beginning. I think it didn’t sit with him well,” Djokovic said earlier this year.
“I don’t know about the others. 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. I felt like I have the game to back it up. I never, ever lacked respect. Whenever I start a match, before the match or finish the match, I would always greet the opponent, always acknowledge. Respect is something that I was taught that needs to be present regardless of what is happening.
“Obviously on the court a lot of things can happen in a kind of heat of a battle. It was very long time ago now, 20 years since I made my first debut I think on the professional tour. It’s really hard to say who liked me more or less. I think I named one, so I don’t know. I can’t recall others.”
What happened early between Federer and Djokovic was laid to rest long time ago as the Serb was a part of the Swiss’ farewell at the 2022 Laver Cup
“Obviously, a lot can happen on the court in the heat of battle. It has been a very long time, about 20 years since I made my professional debut. It’s difficult to say who liked me more or less over the years. I think I named one person, but I can’t remember others.
The early tension between Federer and Djokovic was resolved a long time ago, as evidenced by Djokovic’s participation in Federer’s farewell at the 2022 Laver Cup.”
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