Djokovic talks about his relationship with Federer: "It never went beyond strictly professional"

Novak Djokovic has reached a point in his personal and professional life where he does not measure his words on any controversial topic, thinking about what others might say. The freedom that comes with being 39 years old, having lived through everything, and being the greatest tennis player of all time means that the Serbian has had no qualms about admitting in Basel that his relationship with Roger Federer is far from friendship.

Throughout history, it has been very difficult to find cases of such a close relationship between great rivals as that which Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal had. The Swiss and the Spaniard set an unprecedented example and conveyed a powerful message to the world through their mutual respect, admiration, and affection. Novak Djokovic was the perfect villain to interfere in that tacit distribution of glory.

Djokovic has shown great distance towards Federer in Basel

It was impossible for the Serbian to have a similar relationship with both. Due to the context in which he entered the circuit, his personality, a competitive nature forged in a radically different life from that of Roger and Rafa, and a winning voracity that he never hid, using Federer and Nadal as rivals to beat to be better every day and as his perfect prey to revolutionize the world of sports by hunting them down.

Many years have passed, and while it is true that everything has changed a lot, it is evident that there is still a vast distance between Novak Djokovic and, above all, Roger Federer. They had some verbal clashes after certain matches, but things never escalated.

Djokovic's gesture of attending Federer's farewell at the Laver Cup 2022 was nice and made one think of a mutual rapprochement once the Swiss left the courts, but four years later, that does not seem to be the case, judging by the Serbian's words in the press conference of the Basel tournament, Roger's home, where he was asked about his relationship with the Swiss genius.

"My relationship with Federer has always been strictly professional. I have felt great respect for him, and it remains so because he has contributed a lot to the sport of which I am a part. He paved the way for younger players, and I am grateful to him for that, but we have never had any relationship off the court. In reality, that should be the case because we have always been rivals," the Balkan stated.

Djokovic and Federer faced each other in 50 matches, with a record of 27-23 in favor of the Serbian

On some occasions, Djokovic has expressed his desire that once he retires from tennis, he wants to strengthen ties with both Federer and Nadal and be able to spend time together revisiting their battles and talking about life beyond tennis. The Serbian does not seem to be inclined to do so yet, wasting with these cold words a good opportunity to initiate a rapprochement with the Swiss.

It is worth remembering that Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer have faced each other 50 times, with a record of 27-23 in favor of the Serbian. One of the most memorable recent episodes in their rivalry was Novak's victory in the 2019 Wimbledon final, which marked the beginning of the end of Federer's career, although they would meet again two more times, with Roger winning that same year at the ATP Finals.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Djokovic habla de su relación con Federer: "Nunca fue más allá de lo estrictamente profesional"