It took Novak Djokovic five attempts to finally clinch the first of 27 victories over his longtime rival, Roger Federer.
The Serb had suffered four defeats in a row to the Swiss star in the space of two years, including a straight-sets loss in the fourth round of the 2007 Australian Open.
Later that season, however, in the final of the Canadian Open, Djokovic snapped his losing streak against Federer, emerging victorious in a third-set tiebreak to clinch the sixth title of his career and second ATP 1000 Masters crown.
His triumph marked the beginning of a legendary rivalry and left the then-11-time Grand Slam champion offering high praise after the match.
Roger Federer’s reaction to losing to Novak Djokovic for the first time
When asked in a press conference after the final how he thought Djokovic had improved, Federer responded: “I played four times against him. Never lost.
“No, he played well,” Federer said with a smile on his face.
“Like I said, he’s an up-and-coming youngster who is improving almost by the day because they’re so young, you know, they learn a lot with all the matches they play, with the travelling.
“So for this reason, he definitely played great tournament. He’s been able to back it up now since basically a year now.”
Federer predicted: “If he keeps this up, you know, he’s going to create some chances also at the Grand Slams because he’s been able to come to two semifinals already in his career.
“This obviously might be a breakthrough tournament for him. I was impressed [with] the way I played, but nothing to the point where he surprised me. I knew how he was playing, so that was a good thing.”
Djokovic became the first player to beat both Federer and Rafael Nadal in the same tournament, but the maestro still saw the Spaniard as his biggest threat despite the loss.
“I see him second after Nadal. That’s my opinion,” he concluded.
Roger Federer’s assessment of Novak Djokovic’s playstyle in 2007
Federer said of Djokovic’s playstyle: “I mean, he plays like many other players on tour. You know, I mean, he’s steady off the baseline, he’s got a pretty good serve.
“But, yeah, I mean, like himself, he says nothing outrageous in his game. Always pretty predictable, which is a good thing.
“Yeah, you get some good rallies against him because he scrambles well, moves to the ball well, moves the ball around very nicely. Yeah, I enjoy playing against him.”
Weeks after their meeting at the Canadian Open, the two clashed once again in the US Open final, where Federer came out on top to claim major title number 12.
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