Swiss legend Roger Federer can very well claim to be the most universally loved sporting celebrity the world has ever seen. Apart from his numerous accolades as a player, the camaraderie he shares with the fans makes him such a celebrated figure even beyond the realm of tennis.
Federer won the ATP Fan’s Favorite award for a record 19 times consecutively between 2003 and 2021, right until his retirement in 2022, which stands as a testament to his demigod status among fans worldwide. However, it seems that even a personality as admired as Roger Federer isn’t immune to the wrath of the fans – especially those of his rivals.
Roger Federer faces flak from Novak Djokovic fans on Twitter
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The 20-time grand slam champion was quick to congratulate his great rival and friend Rafael Nadal when the Spaniard surpassed him to become a 21-time major winner at the 2022 Australian Open. However, when Novak Djokovic clinched a record for his 23rd grand slam at the recently concluded French Open, the most by any man in history, Roger Federer avoided congratulating the Serb on any public platform.
It might also be noted that Federer maintained his silence when Novak Djokovic was detained in Australia in 2022 due to his vaccination status, prior to the Australian Open. The Swiss was then a member of the ATP Player Advisory Council. And this seems to have ruffled quite a few feathers, especially those of Djokovic fans.
Twitter was full of reactions pointing fingers at the Swiss maestro.
Federer decided to stay quite during the time Djokovic was being detained in Australia, he was a senior member of the Players council. He has also refrained from publicly congratulating Djokovic on getting the most slams. He won sportsmanship of the year nearly every active year.
— Pavvy G (@pavyg) June 14, 2023
One user questioned the integrity of Roger Federer.
Eventually if you wait patiently enough the truth of a persons character will reveal itself.
Shame on you Federer. Have you just been acting like a gentleman all this time? https://t.co/uJ7R55ZlNG
— Stevan Vuk-Luboya (@stevanvukluboya) June 15, 2023
A fan didn’t have nice things to say about the Swiss great’s status quo.
Hypocrisy is everywhere. Federer is just another phony elite globalist https://t.co/dP0IGXBCpf
— Biffwood (@Biffwood777) June 14, 2023
Another fan had their own theory regarding Federer’s character.
Federer hates anyone that isn’t him and that doesn’t make him money https://t.co/IeFhAvQDz8
— AI Automatic Reply (@hogarth111) June 14, 2023
One fan claimed that Federer may still be feeling the effects of his loss against Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon 2019.
Wimbledon 19 did cut deeper that we thought. https://t.co/KeXVv4VRse
— AbdulJaleeL (@omg_its_abdul) June 14, 2023
Another user referenced how Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal opposed the formation of the Djokovic-led breakaway players’ Union PTPA.
not to mention in the summer of 2020 during a multitude of worldwide crises, Roger Federer returned to Twitter to call for busting the players' union (along with his buddy Rafa Nadal) Novak Djokovic was implementing… https://t.co/5k0CgKDXx4
— justin frederic (@justinfrederic) June 14, 2023
A fan seemed clearly unimpressed with the former world number 1.
federer is a bag of trash apparently https://t.co/YDrc2pFt9H
— kaosjosh (@thekaosjoshway) June 14, 2023
One user expressed their support for Federer’s criticism.
Someone finally said it https://t.co/J53ra0IbJ9
— Aravind arv (@arv_2112) June 14, 2023
Another voiced their strong opinion against the 20-time grand slam winner, “Federer stinks, we knew that” (Google Translate).
Federer je smrdlja to smo znali https://t.co/RXlhrnb4Hy
— Aco (@aco_lazarevic) June 14, 2023
Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic had one of the most storied rivalries in the modern era.?
The Federer-Djokovic rivalry
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The Federer-Djokovic rivalry has been on for ages. Add Rafael Nadal into the mix and you have 3 players, collectively known as the ‘big 3’, who spearheaded the ‘golden era’ of men’s tennis. Initially, it was about the established superstar Roger Federer against a young upstart Novak Djokovic.
But with time, the challenger turned into a formidable champion himself – Novak Djokovic gradually started to better the records held by his rivals, including Federer.
Quite naturally, there was a shake-up in the tennis fandom – Novak Djokovic had gatecrashed the Federer-Nadal duopoly. Fast forward to today and Novak Djokovic is at the top of men’s tennis all alone, with Roger Federer retired and Rafael Nadal out injured. But, their activities still create a lot of stir in the tennis world – Roger Federer getting slammed for not congratulating Novak Djokovic being its most recent example.
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