“I was never friends with Federer and Nadal”

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Next Monday, Novak Djokovic (35) will have to leave first place in the world ranking to Carlos Alcaraz (20). That should not bother the Serbs, because in time for the French Open (from May 28) he will go wild on sand. At the Masters 1000 tournament in Rome (It) he is – for the 17th time in his 17th participation – in the quarterfinals. Against Cameron Norrie (27, ATP 13) he shows no weakness, winning 6:3, 6:4.

Was it only the third game against the Briton, he has played against other players much more often. Roger Federer (41) has faced him 50 times so far, Rafael Nadal (36) 59 times so far. No wonder, says Djokovic in an interview with “Corriere della Sera”: “Nadal is part of my life, in the last 15 years I have seen him more often than my mother.”

Djokovic admires Federer

Despite this, the two never became friends. Even though they went out for dinner twice early in their career – he denies rumors that the friendship with the Spaniard broke down when Djokovic started beating him. Being friends with Nadal doesn’t work any more than it does with Federer. “We were never friends, you can’t do that between rivals.” And adds, “But we were never enemies either.”

Still, Djokovic admires the Maestro. “I’ve always respected Federer, he’s one of the greatest of all time. He was an extraordinary influence, but I was never close to him.” He says his two closest rivals have made him what he is today. “It will bind us together forever, so I am grateful to them.”

“One of the games of my life”

The three have always pushed each other to peak performance. Djokovic recalls the 2019 Wimbledon final as “one of the matches of my life”. At that point, he fended off two match balls from Federer before triumphing himself. Just one of his greatest victories.

He celebrated three others at the US Open (2011, 2015 and 2018). He can open there again this year because unvaccinated people are allowed to enter again. He is not against vaccination, but for free choice, Djokovic emphasises. Despite this, he became a political case after entering Australia in early 2022. This “unvaccinated label” still gives him a stomach ache. It remains to be seen if he can dispel this with further successes. (bir)

Source : Blick