The emotions from the 2022 Laver Cup night still raise goosebumps for fans. The tournament saw Roger Federer bid adieu to the tennis world as he retired, ending his illustrious career. The Swiss maestro had been struggling with injuries and felt the time was right for him to quit the sport. However, the entire tennis world was left emotional as his void was impossible to fill. Two years after Federer called an end to his illustrious career, his rival, Novak Djokovic, made a stirring revelation.

Djokovic was on the same team as Roger Federer during the 2022 Laver Cup. And he revealed that it seemed a part of him went away that day with Fed’s retirement. He never thought he was going to be devastated at a rival’s retirement, but when the moment came, he was indeed devastated. During an interview with La Nacion in Serbia, Djokovic explained how he was deeply impacted by Federer’s retirement.

The Serb revealed, “When he said goodbye, there was also a part of me and Rafa who went with him. Some said that I was going to be devastated, but I didn’t believe them, but when I was there [in the 2002 London Laver Cup] and when I saw that I was really retiring, I said to myself: ‘Wow, this affects me too,’ because, although we are great rivals… as Cristiano Ronaldo said about his rivalry with Messi, they were ‘stage companions’ for many years… we also share the stage. For many years, I saw them more often than my mother. We weren’t close friends, but I can say that we got to know each other well.”

Djokovic and Federer shared the court on numerous occasions, albeit at the opposite ends of the court most of the time. They featured in an astonishing 50 matches against each other, with Djokovic winning 27 of those encounters. Their rivalry was always looked forward to by the fans. While Federer was already an established player by 2010, Djokovic was still figuring his way to the top.

Federer, at the start of Djokovic’s career, had a different opinion about the Serb, but as time went by, it all changed.

Roger Federer admits to not giving Novak Djokovic enough credit

By 2010, the Swiss maestro had already won 16 of his 20 Grand Slam titles. On the other hand, Djokovic had won just a solitary major title. While Djokovic was on the rise, Federer failed to identify the qualities of his rival and didn’t rate him that highly. Earlier this year, the Swiss maestro made a candid confession and accepted his mistake.

He said, “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. 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.’”

However, Djokovic has gone on to achieve more success statistically. While Federer has retired and Nadal is days away from his retirement, Djokovic is still going strong and looks good to win more titles. Can Djokovic add to his tally of 24 Grand Slam titles? Let us know your views in the comments below.