Roger Federer made a really disrespectful Novak Djokovic comment in 2009 that he’s since made a mockery of

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Roger Federer had a wonderful career as a tennis player, and his rivalry with Novak Djokovic was one that will live long in the memory.

Whilst Federer’s rivalry with Rafael Nadal was iconic, people often point to the one he had with Djokovic, which also threw up some extremely entertaining battles over the years.

The talk among pundits these days is whether Djokovic can add to his 24 Grand Slam titles, with that figure eclipsing the 20 won by Federer and the 22 won by Nadal during their respective careers.

Federer wasn’t a huge fan of Djokovic after their first battle in 2006, and it would appear that the Swiss superstar definitely had his gripes with the Serb in the early stages of his time on the ATP Tour.

• READ MORE: Jannik Sinner surpasses Roger Federer record

What Roger Federer said about Novak Djokovic in 2009

It’s quite clear that Federer wasn’t convinced that Djokovic had what it takes to become a serial title winner when he was first starting out.

This is abundantly clear from some comments after a match at the 2009 Australian Open, when Federer was quizzed on Djokovic after a match he played against Andy Roddick.

Roddick won the match in four sets, with Djokovic deciding to retire in the fourth, trailing 2-1 in games and two sets to one to the American performer.

After he retired, Federer was asked if he managed to see any of the match, and he delivered a pretty scathing comment on Djokovic, who was 21-years-old at the time.

He said: “I saw everything, it was a fun match to watch because I thought it was close for two sets, it was deserved, it kind of went one set all and then kind of Andy played solid, I was impressed, I think the next match will be a tough one you know because it was a surprise to see Djokovic the defending champion go out.

“He’s retired before. He’s not the guy who has never given up in his career. He gave up against me last year because of a sore throat. Those kinds of things make you wonder a little bit, you know. That’s not normal. I’ve only given up once, and that came recently in Paris when I couldn’t move because of my back.”

Djokovic still craves at least one Roger Federer record

Although Djokovic now has more Grand Slam titles than Federer, there is still one thing that the Serbian would love to get over the eight-time Wimbledon champion.

Djokovic has won 101 career titles when it comes to singles competitions, and Federer is out in front on 103, with the 38-year-old likely to be craving a couple more titles.

Djokovic would love to go outright in terms of Wimbledon titles but with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner now playing brilliant tennis, those hopes look to be dwindling.

With that in mind, the career singles total looks like the one that he could feasibly beat and it will be interesting to see if he can get there before he calls time on his career.

Djokovic made a mockery of Federer’s comments

It’s outrageous to look back and think that Federer questioned whether or not Djokovic was developing a reputation for quitting easily.

Djokovic is one of the best returners that the game of tennis has ever seen, and as a result, he’s forged a career as not only a serial title winner but as a player who will leave everything out on the tennis court.

Djokovic has reached the semifinals and finals of Grand Slams in recent times, just weeks after knee surgery, and it’s fair to say that these Federer comments from 2009 were dispelled pretty quickly.

Although there is a lot of mutual respect for each other by the pair these days, it seems quite obvious from these comments that it’s not always been sweetness and light between the two.