Why Novak Djokovic’s Father Does Not Like Roger Federer?

Serbian tennis icon Novak Djokovic had rowed against the tide and outpowered two of his most celebrated opponents – Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, to climb to the top of ATP rankings. In-fact, Djokovic is well-positioned to overtake Nadal and Federer in terms of Grand Slam titles.

Right from disrupting 0pponents at big events on occasion before 2010 to making a habit of winning Grand Slam titles since 2011, Djokovic’s story is surreal and inspiring for the followers of the sport. Both in his successes and defeats, his family stood like a rock behind him and cheered him through.

Monte Carlo Masters incident in 2008 might be the trigger in Srdjan-Federer saga

Novak’s father Srdjan Djokovic has always been vocal about praising his son and a constant believer in his abilities to reach the top. But, while praising Djokovic and his journey, Srdjan had often criticized Federer and Nadal for how they treated Novak.

There was a time when Federer shushed Djokovic’s family during their duel at Monte Carlo Masters in 2008. The Swiss star looked distracted by Djokovic’s camp as he directed a serious ‘keep quiet’ comment at them.

Over the years, both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have maintained gracious relationship on-court. Their last meeting came during the semis at the Australian Open last year. The Serbian star overpowered Federer in straight sets and took a dominating 27-23 lead in their head-to-head record.

More than Nadal, Federer always faced the brunt of Srdjan. The Swiss star, who always maintains good relations off the court, couldn’t impress Srdjan enough as the latter launched repeated jibes at Federer for his conduct towards Djokovic.

Srdjan’s father’s hatred towards Federer might have stirred long back. In an interview last year, Djokovic Sr. claimed that Federer attacked Novak when the latter was just 18 years old. Srdjan also mentioned that the Swiss star might be a great champion but not a great man.

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer maintained healthy relationship on-court

While we never got to know what did Srdjan meant exactly by the word ‘attacked’, he never stopped accusing Federer. Last year, Srdjan wondered why the Swiss Maestro is even playing tennis at the age of 40. According to him, Federer couldn’t stand Djokovic and Nadal crossing him in terms of major titles and it was difficult for the Swiss star to accept the same.

Srdjan Djokovic also gave advice to Roger as he asked him to retire from tennis and go skiing with his children. The whole Srdjan and Federer drama can be seen in two ways. One way to look at it is the fact that Srdjan strongly believes that Djokovic is deserving of more love and respect from across the globe as the likes of Federer and Nadal stop him from achieving that.

The other way to see the whole episode is to realize that Srdjan Djokovic is a father who is super proud of his son’s achievements and sometimes go out of his way to prove the same. Neither Federer nor Djokovic ever expressed any adversity towards one another at-least in the recent years.

Also read: Serbian PM Weighs in on Novak Djokovic Detention, Promises to Provide Everything Necessary for Australian Open 2022