‘I felt like the unwanted child': Novak Djokovic says he wasn't ‘adored as much as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal' in Big 3 rivalry

Indian Express

13-06-2025

'I am a man with many flaws, of course. Nevertheless, I have always tried to live with heart and good intentions and, ultimately, to be myself.'
Novak Djokovic's reflection of his illustrious tennis journey as part of a famed 'Big 3' rivalry alongside Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for a majority of his career has seen the Serb reveal the varying emotions he had to undergo over the years.
Despite building his own claim to the 'G.O.A.T' debate with a record 24 Grand Slam titles ahead of Federer (20) and Nadal (22) and a positive head-to-head record, the Serbian has admitted that he was not admired as much as his two great rivals. Djokovic
'I felt like the unwanted child in the trio. I often questioned why that was the case, and it was painful,' Djokovic admitted in a Failures of Champions interview with Slaven Bilic. 'I thought changing my demeanour might win them over, but that proved ineffective too.'
Djokovic said he wasn't welcomed positively for challenging the reign of Federer and Nadal in the noughties, stating that the Swiss and Spaniard appealed to the Western world.
'The two of them had already developed a rivalry before I came along because Nadal broke through a few years before me. They come from Switzerland, from Spain, so Western powers… There are these orientations and there are affiliations.
'I never achieved the same level of adoration as Federer and Nadal because, in a way, I wasn't supposed to disrupt their narrative. I was the third man who boldly declared, 'I'm going to be number one.' Not everyone welcomed that,' remarked Djokovic who recently exited the French Open with a semi-finals defeat to Jannik Sinner.
Djokovic admitted that his rivalry with Federer and Nadal swayed between frosty and friendly over the years, stressing that his on-court competitiveness may not have exactly helped the camaraderie.
'Just because someone is my biggest rival doesn't mean I wish them harm, hate them, or want to do anything else on the court to defeat them. We fought for the win, and the better player won,' Djokovic remarked.
He continued, 'I've always respected both Federer and Nadal; I've never said a single bad word about them and never will. I looked up to them and still do. But I've always gotten along better with Nadal.'
Djokovic hailed Federer as the most talented among the trio, while rating Nadal as his complete contrast. 'When we compare Federer, Nadal and me – Federer is the most talented, the most beautiful to watch, he spent his energy the most efficiently, he moved so slowly, so elegantly, so efficiently, while Nadal is the other contrast, the other extreme. Physicality is maximum, and I'm somewhere in between, but more towards Nadal. Each of us had some of our own characteristics and as time went on, our rivalries complemented each other and strengthened.
'We always say that through these rivalries, the three of us contributed to developing into the tennis players and people and competitors that we have become. I say without a doubt, the rivalry with those two had the most influence on my development, especially in the second part of my career,' Djokovic said.