'Roger Federer knew that someone would come who would be...', says expert

One of the many merits of Serbian Novak Djokovic lies in having managed to earn his own space in an era dominated by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the two 'cannibals' of our sport. Turning pro in 2003, Nole reached his first final in a 2007 US Open Grand Slam event, when he was defeated in the last game by Federer by a score of 7-6 7-6 6-4. A few months later came his first major success: at the Australian Open in Melbourne he took revenge for the defeat he suffered at Flushing Meadows by overtaking the Swiss in the semifinals, before winning against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the last match. Novak was able to triumph eight more times in Australia, setting the all-time record in this tournament and going to improve, a few days later, the record held by Federer in terms of weeks trailing at the top of the world rankings. In an interview published by the EssentiallySports website, the Belgrade champion admitted that he had stopped making comparisons with Federer and Nadal: “We lose ourselves in these comparisons. So many times it's like we lose our brains, I stopped comparing myself to others about five years ago. I don't want to compare myself to Federer or Nadal or myself from fifteen years ago. I don't want to do it with anyone". Djokovic continued: "I am the one who writes my own life story because I am the only person who knows me 100%, I know myself more than anyone else. So I know what I want to achieve, I know what I want to do in life and who I want to be." Novak Djokovic’s father, Srdjan Djokovic, recently took another jibe at one of his son’s greatest rivals, Roger Federer. Srdjan claimed that while Federer is one of the greatest 'champions' of tennis, he isn’t as nice as a person.

Srdjan Djokovic has made several controversial statements

"15 years ago, Roger Federer attacked my son Novak Djokovic while he was still young, aged 18-19; he knew that someone would come who would be better than him," Srdjan said. "I said then that he was a great champion, the best at that time, but as much as he is a great champion, he is not as good a man." Srdjan Djokovic has made several controversial statements in the past, particularly about Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. And many believe that those comments are at least partially responsible for the way Novak Djokovic is portrayed in the media. "Well, I'm really sorry that they don't like it," Srdjan added. "I'm just telling the truth, what they don't like, what should I do? They slander him so much, say so many disgusting things about him that it's just unbelievable."

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