'I would like Roger Federer to play another 5-6 years because...', says Djokovic Sr.

Novak Djokovic has been able to enter the rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal by breaking their duopoly and establishing himself as the great ruler of the last decade. The Serbian champion has significantly reduced the gap that separates him from the Swiss and the Spanish, also thanks to the recent triumph at the Australian Open 2021. The ninth triumph at Melbourne Park has in fact allowed him to climb to 18 Majors, just two lengths away from eternal rivals in the all-time leaderboard. At the beginning of March, the 33-year-old from Belgrade took away the added satisfaction of beating the record for weeks at the top of the ATP ranking (thanks also to the new system introduced to deal with the consequences of the pandemic). In spite of the countless successes obtained in the field, Nole has always attracted many detractors. In recent days, his father Srdjan launched yet another jab at Federer. It is not the first time that Djokovic Sr. has spent unkind words towards his son's main opponents, a trend that ends up damaging the image of the 18-time Grand Slam champion.

Srdjan on Roger Federer

“I think it's really hard to be friends with someone when you fight them for number 1, for titles and for money. But they are correct between them. From my point of view, I would like Roger Federer to play another 5 or 6 years so that Novak Djokovic can make even more the difference in the results of their confrontations,” declared a particularly teasing Djokovic's dad. As a reminder, Djokovic leads 27 to 23 wins against Federer and has even won seven of the last ten duels. Over the past decade, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has been the most dominant player in the men’s game; he is the proud winner of eighteen Grand Slam titles. In an era dominated by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the Serbian ace has carved an identity for himself. Recently, Novak Djokovic’s former coach Andre Agassi spoke on their brief association as player and coach. Although they didn’t enjoy much success together, the American legend stated that his wish was only to help the Serb in his journey to achieve greatness. Agassi felt a great bond and connection with Djokovic’s family and hence decided to coach him. “I wasn’t helping him for me. My reasons were because I believed that it’s best for tennis if somehow he could get the best out of himself and then getting to know him & his family, I had a desire to help.”

 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3cHq6nW