The big three of tennis have reinvented the game in the last two decades. Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal have solidified their names in tennis. Their rivalries eventually evolved into a friendship. Federer and Nadal have been close for a long time. The Swiss even chose Nadal as his doubles partner for his final match, and the two cried after the bout was over. While Federer and Djokovic also became friends at the end of Federer’s career, things weren’t always amicable between the two. This situation led an ex-coach of Djokovic to open up about the strained relationship between the Serbian legend and Federer.

Novak Djokovic preferred playing Roger Federer to Rafael Nadal

An excerpt in the book, ‘The Roger Federer Effect: Rivals, Friends, Fans and How the Maestro Changed Their Lives’, details how Djokovic wanted to face Roger Federer more than Rafael Nadal. 

The book details how the ex-coach of Djokovic, Marián Vajda, believed that there was something between the two greats of the sport. Nadal and Djokovic are friends, and Roger and Nadal are very good friends. However, things were always tense between Federer and Djokovic. Even though the two were always cordial with each other, they maintained a certain distance. This probably motivated Djokovic to triumph in the bout.

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“Vajda believes that Djokovic preferred to play against Federer over Nadal. ‘Because there is something between them. Rafa and Novak are friends and Rafa and Roger are very good friends. But there was always a little bit of tension between Novak and Roger. They were nice and always respected each other, but there was a certain distance between them.’ Which probably only spurred Djokovic on even more to succeed against Federer,” Vajda said in Federer’s book.

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The Serbinator and the ‘Swiss Maestro’ have faced off against each other fifty times. Djokovic leads the rivalry with 27 wins over Federer’s 23 wins. Djokovic also has an advantage in victories in finals with 13 victories over Federer’s 6.

The two legends of the sport have never been rude to each other publicly. However, the two haven’t spoken to each other as per the Serbian ever since Federer’s retirement. Regardless, Djokovic still holds great admiration and respect for Federer.