The rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal is one of the best rivalries seen on the men’s tennis circuit. However, there was a time when Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic didn’t really appreciate their rivalry. Recently, the world number two recalled his tennis debut, when he witnessed the “Fedal” rivalry up close.
While the 35-year-old was trying to make a name for himself in the tennis world, his other rivals were already ruling the ATP Tour. The Federer-Nadal rivalry was quite different from other rivalries seen in tennis history.
Novak Djokovic discusses Federer-Nadal rivalry
The current world number. 2 spoke for the first time after pulling out of the Miami Open with CNN. In this conversation, the “Djoker” spoke of his ten-year rivalry with the other three great players. He also revealed that he didn’t always like being part of the big three clan.
He said: “Well, at the beginning of my professional career, when I was breaking through, it was – on the men’s side – only about Federer and Nadal. About their rivalry and such an opposite style of tennis and their epic matches they played. So it was a bit difficult for me to get into the mix.
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However, after many years, he considers it an honor to have built such a famous rivalry with the best tennis players of his time. Not only that, but he believes his success is due to his three big rivals, which made him stand out on the tennis circuit.
Djokovic thanks Federer and Nadal for his success
A few years ago, in an interview with Indian news outlet NDTV, Djokovic explained how grateful he was to be part of the Federal-Nadal era. Then he expressed his gratitude to his three big rivals, saying how grateful he was to share the stage with them.
Not only that, but he also talked about how, when he started out, he wanted to belong to another era, seeing how his big three rivals were dominating the sport single-handedly. Will Djokovic be considered the GOAT if he surpasses Nadal in number of Grand Slam titles?
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