Roger Federer wasn’t a big fan of Novak Djokovic during the early days of his career, according to the 24-time Grand Slam winner himself. Following Djokovic’s third-round triumph at the Australian Open, the Serbian was asked which players he didn’t see eye to eye with when he first joined the tour because of his expressive personality. “I know certainly Federer didn’t like the way I was behaving.”
Novak Djokovic has revealed that tennis legend Roger Feder “didn’t like the way he was behaving” when the Serbian first joined the professional tour.
Djokovic advanced into the fourth round of the Australian Open after victory over Tomas Martin Etcheverry on Friday, as he seeks a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title.
As the 36-year-old continues his bid to become the sport’s greatest-ever player, he was asked in his latest post-match press conference whether any players gave him advice or criticism because of his big and expressive personality in the early stages of his career.
Djokovic began his professional career in 2003, the beginning of an era Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal began to dominate, and in 2008 won his first Grand Slam to disrupt the pairs’ streak of 11 consecutive majors.
On whether he ever had any confrontations with older players during his early days, Djokovic revealed one name that he didn’t see eye to eye with.
“I know certainly Federer didn’t like the way I was behaving at the beginning,” he said. “I think it didn’t sit with him well. I don’t know about the others.
“I guess I wasn’t the favourite type of guy to some of the top guys because I was not afraid to say that I wanted to be the best player in the world. I was kind of – not kind of – I was confident, and I felt like I had the game to back it up.”
Djokovic and Federer – who won 20 Grand Slam titles – contested a fierce rivalry on the court and faced each other in five major finals, four of which the Serbian won.
Although Djokovic professed his brazen personality back in the day, he insisted he always held every opponent he faced in high regard.
“I never, ever lacked respect,” he said. “Whenever I start a match, before the match or finish the match, I would always greet the opponent, always acknowledge [them].
“Respect is something that I was taught that needs to be present regardless of what is happening.
“Obviously, on the court, a lot of things can happen in a kind of heat of a battle. It was a very long time ago now, 20 years since I made my first debut I think on the professional tour.
“It’s really hard to say who liked me more or less. I think I named one, so I don’t know. I can’t recall others.”
