Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer‘s on-court rivalry has always been a spectacle for tennis fans. Each time these two legends faced off, it was destined to be a thrilling showdown. However, the Swiss Maestro recently admitted that he did not give his Serbian counterpart the respect he deserved in the early days of their encounters. This surprising revelation has stirred the tennis world, and now, another former player has chimed in, nodding in unison.

In the latest episode of Served with Roddick, the former American tennis player Andy Roddick shared similar sentiments about Djokovic. Speaking about Roger Federer’s latest documentary, ‘FEDERER: Twelve Final Days’, Roddick recalled the statements that Roger Federer made about Novak Djokovic and said that he had similar views about the Serb when he started playing.

Roger Federer had revealed that he didn’t respect Novak’s skills in his early days. “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.” The initial bonds that Nole and Federer had were not straightforward enough. It was strewn with almost dismissive contempt of the Serb’s early reputation for quitting matches to bark at the aggressive nature of his opponent’s family support. However, he went on to admit that Nole ironed those issues and went on to become a “monster of a player.” Now, the 2003 US Open winner also had a similar belief about the Serb.

Accepting the mistake of judging the legendary player, Roddick talked about how there was a lack of respect for Djokovic. “It’s probably something that we all are guilty of in that generation. He said some lines of I didn’t give Novak the respect that he deserved when he was younger. I don’t think I did either.” However, he did not fail to accept the talent that Djokovic brought in with him. “You know when, when he came in he was the guy breaking up the beatles. Like he was, he was this new guy who didn’t care that these guys were great. Like he was there to steal titles from them.” Interestingly, Roger Federer, who did not feel worthy about his opponent, has faced massive defeats against him.

With Nole leading the Head-to-head tally with 27-23, he has given several blows to the Swiss legend in their encounters. The duo have been against each other in the finals of their ATP tour 20 times, and Djokovic has handed defeat to Federer 14 times in these encounters. Meanwhile, the Serb is currently eyeing a faster recovery ahead of Wimbledon.

‘I haven’t decided yet,’ Novak Djokovic still unclear about his Wimbledon Participation

Novak Djokovic has been out of the tennis courts since his fourth-round match at the French Open. The 24-time Grand Slam champion tore the medial meniscus in his right knee after which he opted for surgery. While his Wimbledon participation was doubtful given the time it takes for recovery, he shared some promising videos of practicing on the courts again. However, he himself is still unclear about his participation.

The tennis legend earlier traveled from London to Munich to serve his home team in the Euro Cup match against Serbia. Speaking on RTS in Munich, Nole said that he is yet to take a final call. “I haven’t decided yet if I’m playing Wimbledon, I’ll decide in the next few days.” However, he seems to be more excited for the Paris Olympics. “Thank God, the recovery is going surprisingly well. After Wimbledon are the Olympic Games in Paris, which I am especially looking forward to.” 

Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see if the tennis great can recover more quickly and ensure participation in Wimbledon to win his 25th Grand Slam title.