Federer - Djokovic: no love lost
In case you hadn’t known the history between these two…
At a Davis Cup match between Switzerland and Serbia last September, Federer was riled by what he characterized as dubious medical timeouts by Djokovic. “I think he’s a joke when it comes to his injuries,” said an unusually cranky Federer at the time. “The rules are there to be used, not abused…I was happy to beat him.”
Undaunted - and at the time winless against Federer - Djokovic spoke confidently of beating him someday. “Why should I be frightened?” he said. “For me, it’s a totally normal thing. If I go out on the court thinking positively, I think I can win against anybody. If you go out with the white flag, what are you doing there? You know what I mean?”
To actually witness Djokovic saying such things, you sense no animosity whatsoever. He’s just a remarkably self-assured kid without a trace of petulance or mean-spiritedness. The quotes do look bold in print, though. Almost jokingly, Djokovic predicted that Federer was “going down” before their fourth-round match at this year’s Australian Open (Federer won in straight sets). A month later at Dubai, where Federer made it a perfect 4-0 in the career matchup, Djokovic was asked about a possible feud.
“We’ve never had a bad relationship,” he said. “It was just that one situation at the Australian which was really bad. The press asked me if I was going to play my best tennis, and I said, ‘No, I’m not going to just play my best tennis. I’m going out there thinking that I can win.’ Then people said that I was arrogant, cocky, and I don’t know what else.”
Djokovic never apologized for any of those remarks. He figures if he isn’t absolutely set in his mind that he can beat Federer, it won’t actually happen. Then came the second week of August, at the Rogers Cup tournament in Montreal. That’s where Djokovic made his career breakthrough, becoming the first man in 13 years to take down the world’s top three players - first Roddick, then Nadal, finally Federer (a 7-6, 2-6, 7-6 final) - in successive matches.
Before that match, when journalists asked Federer about Djokovic’s game, he said he “wasn’t that much impressed.” Coming from Federer, who seldom has a bad word for anyone, the comment was telling. And after Djokovic had pulled the upset, Federer called the result “insignificant.”
sfgate.com