Novak Djokovic vs Roger Federer is one of the most celebrated tennis rivalries in the history of the sport. The two greats of the game have locked horns on several occasions and produced some epic encounters over the years but in a recent revelation by the Serb, he has said that the two have never really been friends. In a recent interview, Djokovic who holds the record for the most number of Grand Slam wins with his tally standing at 22, threw light on the kind of equation he shares with now retired Federer. The interview was shared by the Tennis Letter on their social media handle.
The tweet read: "Novak Djokovic says him & Federer aren’t friends: ‘We have never been friends, between rivals it’s not possible; but we’ve never been enemies. I’ve always had respect for Roger, he was 1 of the greatest of all time. He had extraordinary impact, but I’ve never been close to him‘."
In a separate post by Tennis Letter, Djokovic said that even friendship with Rafael Nadal was "impossible. He was quoted as saying: "Nadal & I had dinner twice. But even with him friendship is impossible. He’s a part of my life. I’ve seen more of him the last 15 years than I have of my mother. Thanks to him & Federer I grew up & became who I am."
Djokovic and Swiss icon Federer have locked horns against each other a total of fifty times. While Djokovic has emerged victorious on twenty seven occasions, on other occasions it was Federer who came out on top. Despite Djokovic saying that he and Federer are not close, scenes that unfolded after Federer's last match seemed to suggest that two may have gotten close at least towards the fag end of Federer's career.
After Federer, 20-time Grand Slam champion, announced his retirement and played his last match, Djokovic was seen getting emotional. In addition, contrary to Djokovic claiming that friendship isn't possible among rivals, Federer's long-time rival as well as a friend Rafael Nadal had a hard time holding back his tears after Federer hung up his professional tennis boots.
Djokovic admitted that he became emotional after seeing Federer with his family post match.