Roger Federer’s Father Reminisces on Son’s Rivalry...

Roger Federer’s Father Reminisces on Son’s Rivalry, Caps Djokovic As The Greatest Obstacle

Novak Djokovic

Contrary to the widely-held notion that Roger Federer's toughest career moments came against Rafael Nadal, the opponent who gave him a real run for his money was, instead, Serbian Novak Djokovic.

This was revealed by Federer’s father, Robert, as he reflected on his son’s sorjourn into tennis, which came to an emotional end with the Laver Cup last week.

Both Djokovic and Nadal were by (Roger) Federer’s side when he bid bye to the sport he has immensely contributed to over the past two decades.

The senior Federer referred to the 2019 Wimbledon final match in which his son played Djokovic as the toughest ever, with Federer wasting two match points on his serve. At the time, (he) Federer had a then-record 20 Majors to his name while Nadal had 18 and Djokovic had 15 - winning his 16th in that final - meaning the Swiss star could have extended his record to 21 before ending his career.

The 41-year-old managed to hold onto his record for four years - winning his 20th and final Major at the 2018 Australian Open - even though Nadal and Djokovic managed to tie him on 20.

Nadal was the first man to reach 21 Slams in Australia this year, immediately extending the record to 22 at the French Open while Djokovic won his 21st at Wimbledon.

Despite them being arguably less significant than the Wimbledon 2019 finals loss, Federer’s father is of the opinion that two of Federer’s US Open defeats to Djokovic had been the most difficult of his career.

“Add to that the two semi-finals he lost against Novak at the US Open in 2010 and 2011, where he had match points in his favour,” he added.

He, however, seems to have overlooked his son’s famous 2008 Wimbledon final loss to Nadal that is often dubbed the “greatest men’s tennis match of all time.”

Djokovic achieved his debut triumph over the then eight[A1] -time Wimbledon champion at SW19 after four hours and 48 minutes to bag his maiden Wimbledon crown.

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