“It seemed to me that he had too extreme a forehand grip and a backhand that wasn’t as fluid as today. Then she solved it and became a monster”
London (England) 04/07/2023 – Wimbledon / photo Panoramic/Image Sport in the photo: Kate Middleton-Roger Federer ONLY ITALY
In the end Roger Federer confesses a bit of a sense of superiority, he recognized that he didn’t give Novak Djokovic “the respect he deserved”, in the Serbian’s debut. He talks about it in the documentary about the end of his career, “Twelve Final Days”, on Amazon Prime. “I think it was a bit misunderstood – says Federer – I faced him in Munich for the first time (the Swiss won 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, it was 2006, ed.), even though he was there a bit of hype around him, I wasn’t entirely convinced. I think I didn’t give Novak the respect he deserved due to his technical shortcomings. I felt like Novak had a really extreme forehand grip and his backhand for me wasn’t as fluid as it is nowadays. But then he solved these things very well and became a monster.”
It’s a bit of a catchphrase in recent tennis history: Federer, Nadal and Murray have always been more “loved” than Djokovic, who, however, in the end is the one who won the most.
Federer admits that Nole was seen a little “like the one who crashed the Rafa and Roger fans’ party. When Novak arrived probably a lot of people thought: we don’t need a third guy. We are happy with Roger and Rafa. Novak arrived with his strong personality and that incredible determination to want to win at all costs. I think Novak was also stimulated by the relationship with the fans. I think that deep concentration may have scared some.”
“I think it’s been a little misunderstood. I look past the media and finally see the man he is. If I take away his game, who is he? What are his values? I know he cares very deeply about his family.”.
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