Roger Federer‘s fierce rivalry against Novak Djokovic ended on fine terms. While the latter graced the Swiss tennis maestro’s retirement ceremony with words of praise, the matter seemed settled. Nearly two years after the Laver Cup in London, Federer’s latest statement for the Serb is igniting a new controversy.

In a recent interview, Roger Federer submitted a harsh comment on Novak Djokovic, which could prove to be the spark that invites hate from the Serb’s fans all across the globe. Remembering their very first showdown on tour in Monaco, the Swiss tennis maestro revealed that he wasn’t convinced by the big talks around Djokovic’s potential.

“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,” he added. Along with that, Federer also took a hit at Nole’s overall presence in the scene which was ruled by him and Rafael Nadal.

“I guess he was the party crasher of Rafa and Roger fans. 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,” he added.

It has been a while since the tennis fans shifted their attention from the on-court rivalry between Federer and Djokovic. During the era of the big threes, they both clashed against each other 50 times throughout their professional careers. Despite what Federer thinks of his rival, he stands behind in their head-to-head score, with the Serb having a massive record of 27 wins over him.

While the former pro was no longer around to pose a challenge against the Serb’s dominance, everyone started to focus on new rivals like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Now that the Swiss tennis maestro decided to thrash his former rival with a harsh revelation, immense hate from fans is highly likely to follow.

Novak Djokovic admits to Roger Federer’s denial of respect

The fact that Roger Federer bluntly disregards Novak Djokovic’s presence in the beginning of their clashes also received acceptance from the Serb himself. While the Swiss tennis maestro has picked several opportunities to be clear about his dissatisfaction with Nole’s behavior, he approved of his rival’s thoughts.

“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,” the former world no.1 said in an interview. Continuing his statement of not being the fans’ favorite, Djokovic 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.”

The debate between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer has existed for a long time. Even after the Swiss tennis maestro has ended his professional career, he still stays firm on his belief about Djokovic’s disregard.