During his playing career, Roger Federer enjoyed a healthy rivalry with Serbian legend Novak Djokovic.
The pair enjoyed many memorable encounters before the Swiss icon ended his career in 2022.
Djokovic is now the man with his sights set on Federer’s record number of eight Wimbledon titles.
For years, it looked as though Djokovic would eclipse Federer comfortably but now he’s got a real fight on his hands.
The 36-year-old still needs two more titles to stand alone at SW19 and right now, he’s trying to force his way back from injury.
With a new documentary coming out on Federer’s career, he’s been spending some time doing interviews with media outlets.
In his most recent chat, he’s been discussing what he noticed about Djokovic during the early stages of his career.
What Roger Federer has said about Novak Djokovic
Djokovic has taken tennis by storm in the wake of Federer retiring and Rafael Nadal regressing as a player.
The seven-time Wimbledon champion is now facing a fight to make this year’s tournament.
He’s been nursing a knee injury that curtailed his progress at Roland Garros earlier this month at the quarter-final stage.
Federer has been discussing the brilliance of Djokovic during a recent interview and he’s admitted what he thought about him earlier in his career.
He told Welt: “When I played against Novak, he still had a few technical errors. That was at a time when the best players were usually those with the best technique. He wasn’t necessarily that per se.
“That’s why people thought that it could be his downfall. But then he’s managed to even it all out. Then there was the new racket technology, which helped the whole generation after me.
“Things were so fast for me when I was a junior and later one. The speed of the courts too. You had to play differently then. I was the transition and Novak was the beginning of the new generation. It’s unbelievable what he’s achieved.”
Roger Federer vs Novak Djokovic – The tale of the tape
Well, it’s actually Djokovic who comes out on top when it comes to arguably the two best players of all time meeting.
During 50 meetings, Djokovic came out on top winning 27 to Federer’s 23.
The pair met on 17 occasions at Grand Slam events and the pair have enjoyed some brilliant battles down the years.
There is no denying the quality of both players and Djokovic has now edged ahead of Federer in terms of the number of Grand Slam victories.
Federer can still be called the king of Wimbledon, however, with no player matching his eight titles at the major yet.
Djokovic will fancy getting two more titles to stand alone before his career comes to an end but he does now have a fight on his hands.
Lots of players fancy their chances at major tournaments these days and Federer will perhaps be hoping his Wimbledon legacy remains intact.
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